King Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 08 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6299. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement on 29 July that core Crown health expenditure covers “most but not all inflationary pressures”; and what impact has this shortfall had on patients?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): I stand by my comments in the context that they were made. Inflation is at 0.4 percent meaning that the 0.6 percent contribution for inflationary pressure is actually above the rate of inflation. In terms of impact on patients this Government is delivering 50000 more operations 60000 more surgical appointments faster cancer care 5500 more doctors and nurses and free GP visits and prescriptions for 750000 children. Only a National Government can both handle the country’s finances and deliver more services.Hon Annette King: If there is sufficient funding why was Claire Davies a 24-year-old who spent 1½ years in pain waiting for an operation told by her orthopaedic surgeon 2 months ago: “Unfortunately you are being adversely affected by funding limitations felt throughout the New Zealand health system.”?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: As the Canterbury District Health Board admitted on the news on Sunday night that statement made by that surgeon was incorrect and should never have been sent to that patient. That patient will be getting her operation as she should have got in the first place.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table the letter to Claire Davies dated 3 July 2015 from her orthopaedic surgeon saying that funding limitations—Mr SPEAKER: Order! We do not need a description of it. Leave is sought to table that particular letter. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: Did anyone in his office contact the orthopaedic surgeon who wrote the letter to Claire Davies or did his office speak to the media about the surgeon in an attempt to warn the media off reporting this appalling story?Mr SPEAKER: The Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman—either of those two supplementary questions.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: No.Hon Annette King: Are 20 district health boards wrong when they report that 160000 people have been sent back to their GP without a specialist appointment even though the data has been collected using the new Ministry of Health National Patient Flow data set which he says will next year show the level of real unmet need?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: As the member well knows always patients have been sent back to their GPs. They were when Labour was in Government and actually no Government has ever been able to supply all the operations that every person needs. But we are the first Government to ever build a complete picture of that. The member knows actually that that picture is not yet complete and the data will be available later next year. All we do know for a fact is that we are doing more: 60000 more surgical appointments 50000 more operations and 50000 more medical appointments. So the only answer to unmet need is to do more. We are doing more; the Labour people did less.Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table an Official Information Act request from the Waitematā District Health Board dated 21 July 2015 stating that the data was drawn from the National Patient Flow project.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular official information from the Waitematā District Health Board. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: Was Professor Phil Bagshaw who runs the charity hospital in Christchurch wrong when he said that since 2008 the annual average increase in the number of people receiving a first specialist assessment is only on average 3.8 percent but needs to be increased to 6 to 8 percent to keep up with baseline population increases—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon Annette King: —and the ageing population?Mr SPEAKER: Order! Questions are to be—[Interruption] Order! Questions are to be in line with Standing Order 380. They are meant to be concise. The length of supplementary questions from this member today is unacceptably long.Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Yes but what is also correct to say is that back in 2007 the same Mr Bagshaw said that unmet need was getting worse and the Labour Government was doing nothing about it.