Collins Judith: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
Collins Judith: Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8171] 
JUDITH COLLINS (NZ National—Clevedon) 
: 
 It is always nice and such a rare occurrence to be able to support something from this Government and in particular this Minister. But I have to say that it is only because of the sterling work of the Opposition members of the Health Committee. I include in that the Green member. We worked together very very fully to get some sense into the legislation. We found a part that we can actually feel quite happy about but with an amendment. I would like to support my colleague Dr Lynda Scott. In her Supplementary Order Paper she is asking that clause 231 be deleted. Again I am following on from my colleague in the ACT party Heather Roy who yet again has made another sensible and considered contribution to this debate. 
We must not have a double jeopardy situation in these complaints. As a lawyer I have acted for medical practitioners who have found themselves on the wrong end of complaints. I have also acted for people who had complaints against medical practitioners or health practitioners as they are now called under this bill. It is for those medical or health practitioners the most worrying thing. They are people who do not stand around saying: “Oh well I’ve got a complaint today; so what who cares!”. They do not take that sort of “Black Adder” approach. What they do do is worry. They worry and they worry and they worry. We are talking about people who are under the most immense stress in their day-to-day lives and who are in many ways never off call. They are always no matter where they are—in a plane for example—health professionals and they are going to be called on if something goes wrong. 
I note my colleague Dr Lynda Scott saying that yes she knows because she has been there and still is. I must say that we all often consult Dr Lynda Scott and Dr Paul Hutchison on all sorts of little issues but fortunately not Dr Hutchison in his previous occupation for some time! Doctors nurses health professionals—I want to call them health professionals; I do not like this “health practitioners” nonsense. These people are professionals and for goodness’ sake why can they not be called that? Maybe we should move an amendment quickly to get that changed. It is absolutely appalling that those professional people who dedicate their lives to providing service for others are being told that they are no longer professionals. That is a shame. What we have to do is get rid of this double jeopardy; the situation where if people cannot get them one way they will get them another. 
We have a tremendous amount of faith in the Health and Disability Commissioner Mr Ron Paterson. We know he is someone who has the support of this House in this area. I think I can speak for all the parties here—and we are all nodding—that we have a lot of faith in his ability and in the ability of his team. We do not need somebody second-guessing him in this. We do not need to put the people through this again if he has dismissed a complaint. Why should they have to go back again? Why have another go? In this particular clause anything that slows down the process of complaint is a bad thing. In fact complaints just like justice must be speedy enough. In other words it has to be able to be dealt with within someone’s lifetime. It certainly has to be dealt with within a period of time so that people can then get on with their lives. It should not be something that drags on for 6 years. It should not be something whereby a health professional—I will use that term again: a health professional—is being bullied and pursued by somebody who decides that he or she has a problem with that particular health professional. 
Certainly at the select committee we heard time and time again of people in the health professions who were in fact the subject of constant complaint by the same person.