King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 06 August 2013. Volume:692;Page:12311. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]10.Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai)to theMinister of Health: Does he take responsibility for the health outcomes from his policies; if not why not?Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health):As Minister I take responsibility for the overall performance of the New Zealand public health service including responsibility for the big increase of over 37000 extra patients who have received first specialist assessments under this Government.Hon Annette King: Does he take responsibility for district health boards that are once again this year sending letters to general practitioner clinics saying that due to the current resources available and increased demands they will be accepting only urgent referrals to the hospital something that in March in Parliament he claimed did not reflect what was happening; and is he aware that general practitioners are now reporting that patients with significant impairment and pain are not getting timely treatment and are saying that the real number of patients waiting to be seen is being hidden?Hon TONY RYALL: I would have to say to any of those claims that the real number of patients being hidden is what is going on that it is not correct. That member will recall that in fact it was her party opposite that slashed 36000 people from waiting lists in order to hide the true number of people waiting.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table a letter from the Hutt Valley District Health Board to general practitioner clinics saying that it will accept only urgent referrals. This is under his watch—it is nothing to do with 8 years ago.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Leave is sought to table that particular document. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be so tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table a letter from a general practitioner clinic saying that their patients have significant impairment and pain because they have been denied timely treatment and that the stopping of the referral of these patients hides the real numbers—under his watch.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular letter from a general practitioner clinic. Is there any objection? There appears to be none. It can be so tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: Does he take any responsibility for Mrs Holland of Hawke’s Bay who has received a letter telling her that she cannot be seen because of current resources and capabilities even though she keeps falling over and is permanently on a walking stick; or Mrs Bennett of MidCentral who has been refused an appointment because only urgent referrals are being accepted even though she is unable to walk more than a few steps; or Mr Greenwood from Capital and Coast who has been refused an appointment and has been forced to stay on a sickness benefit for 2½ years? These are just some of the growing numbers of cases emerging under 5 years of his stewardship.Hon TONY RYALL: I would have to see the full story behind those claims because I am aware that that member made a claim of a large number of people who weremissing out on services of the district health boards on the basis of a doctored Official Information Act request that she then had to apologise for for the claims that she had made.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table the amended numbers of colonoscopies from South Canterbury that the Minister is talking about. They had to amend them because they made the mistake not me.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! What is the source of the document the member is—Hon Annette King: It is a report from the South Canterbury District Health Board to me to correct their mistake.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Leave is sought to table that particular report from the South Canterbury District Health Board. Is there any objection? There appears to be none. It can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon TONY RYALL: I seek leave to table an Official Information Act response to Mrs King from the South Canterbury District Health Board which shows the numbers were changed.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular document. [Interruption ] Order! Would the member please resume his seat. Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be so tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: Does he take responsibility for the shocking health outcome for an elderly woman in a retirement village hospital in Wellington who was found covered in faeces on three separate occasions care that was called disgusting by her daughter because he has failed to implement recommendations from three significant reports into the care of the elderly—all released under his watch; his 5 years as Minister—which included recommendations around low wages paid to carers around training and around staffing levels?Hon TONY RYALL: I was shocked and appalled to see the level of that care being provided in that facility and it is simply completely unacceptable. The Government has put $184 million extra into aged residential care and what I can tell that member is that I am interested she is now suggesting there should be minimum staffing ratios in rest homes because when she was Minister she ruled that out.Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption ]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have a point of order. It will be heard in silence.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table the Human Rights Commission report—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That report will be available to all members.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table the Audit Office report about—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member is now starting to waste the time of this House by attempting to table documents that are available to any—Hon Annette King: He hasn’t read them has he?Mr SPEAKER: Order! If the member also wants to stay for the balance of question time she needs to be careful about points of order that she raises.