Dyson Ruth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Dyson Ruth: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:666;Page:13976] 
5. 
Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Are doctors and nurses having more say in how the health system is run? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes and in part that is because under this Government there are over 1000 extra nurses and hundreds of extra doctors. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Does he support the view of Kevin Woods who was recently appointed Director-General of Health that many doctors’ and nurses’ positions can be cut without compromising health services; if so in which areas are those surplus doctors and nurses to be found? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Mr Woods’ comments no doubt reflect circumstances from his Government in Scotland. Under this Government in New Zealand we have employed since the election over 1000 extra nurses and hundreds of extra doctors. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Who are doctors and nurses more likely to have confidence in: the 29 New Zealanders who were shoulder-tapped to lead the Ministry of Health—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise to the member. I must say I am not terribly impressed with the way the sound system is working today because I am struggling to hear members but the level of interjection is not helping. That just got totally out of control and the House has been very well behaved until just the last couple of minutes. I ask the Hon Ruth Dyson please to repeat her question and I ask members to be reasonable in their interjections. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Thank you Mr Speaker. Who are doctors and nurses more likely to have confidence in: the 29 New Zealanders who were shoulder-tapped to lead the Ministry of Health but declined the job or Mr Woods who oversaw the plan to slash 4000 front-line health jobs in Scotland? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I think New Zealanders can have confidence in the decision of the State Services Commissioner to employ Dr Woods. I can confirm the reported comments of the director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland who said that Mr Woods “leaves the NHS in Scotland in a better place than it was when he arrived” which is certainly not something that New Zealand doctors and nurses would say about that party opposite when it was in Government. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: What improvements have been made by giving doctors and nurses more say in the public health service? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: A good example is the 2500 nurses now involved in the Releasing Time To Care programme which in some parts of the country is doubling the amount of time that nurses spend with patients. As a result patients are getting better care getting back to their families sooner and fewer are being readmitted to hospital. That could not happen unless there was leadership being shown by New Zealand nurses up and down wards throughout this country. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Was there any consistency in the reason that so many people declined to take on the role of Director-General of Health during the shoulder-tapping; if so has the Minister of State Services advised him of the reason? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I can tell the member opposite that she can make up as many stories as she likes about that but Dr Woods is coming to a job where over 1000 extra nurses hundreds of extra doctors and hundreds of extra services are being provided in hospitals throughout New Zealand. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: When he told nurses last year of his lean-thinking pilots was he actually intending to warn them that they would soon be working longer and harder and that many of their colleagues would lose their jobs? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: Over 1000 extra nurses have been employed in the public health service since the election and hundreds of extra doctors are employed in the public health service. The only people I am aware of who are losing their jobs are a large number of managers throughout the bureaucracy.