Stewart Barbara: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Stewart Barbara: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:616;Page:11638] 
10.  
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: How many people infected with tuberculosis are currently patients at North Shore Hospital and if there are any how many of those patients were born in New Zealand? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Health) 
: 
 There are currently no inpatients at North Shore Hospital with tuberculosis. 
Barbara Stewart 
: Has the Minister any plans to calculate the total cost to the health-care system of tuberculosis cases in migrants; if so when does she expect this figure to be made available and if not why not? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I believe that it probably would be possible to get the member the costings of tuberculosis cases—I do not have them with me but I could undertake to get them to the member. I am certain that the district health boards would hold those. 
Dave Hereora 
: What action has the Government taken to ensure that immigrants do not place an unreasonable burden on the health system? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The New Zealand Immigration Service and the Ministry of Health are phasing in new health and disability screening requirements this month. Under the changes tuberculosis screening requirements will apply to students wanting to stay in New Zealand for more than 6 months visitors and workers intending to stay longer than 1 year and all people from high-risk countries. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: Why has the Government up to now not taken any action to prevent the $13.6 million in bad debts or recoup the losses from the 6000 foreign patients who get treated in New Zealand hospitals but instead has simply passed the buck to the district health boards? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: District health boards are required to do their utmost to recoup bad debts. However the Government has put in $9.6 million towards those bad debts. There will always be some people who use our health system and do not pay their bills but any hospital’s first obligation is to give health service when a person is in need of urgent health care. I believe that that has been the case under Governments for many years. 
Sue Kedgley 
: How many persons at North Shore Hospital have become infected with hospital-acquired bloodstream infections and with the super bug methicillin-resistant staphylococcus; and why is there not a requirement for all district health boards to report publicly and in a nationally consistent fashion on those sorts of infections and on a range of other adverse events? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The question was about tuberculosis. I do not have at my fingertips the number of cases of another problem at a hospital. I could not possibly answer that question but I am sure the answer has probably been given in a written form—the member has asked questions on this subject before—and if it has not I am certain we could get it for her. 
Barbara Stewart 
: Is the Minister aware of a strain of tuberculosis now found in New Zealand that cannot be cured by medication currently used—andat best can only be managed—if so what is she planning to do in order to tackle this Third World disease once thought to be eradicated in this country? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: A lot has been done to tackle tuberculosis in New Zealand. It is unfortunate that we do have sporadic outbreaks of tuberculosis. Obviously treatment regimes are in place and it is controlled very well in New Zealand. It would be good if we did not have any tuberculosis but that is very difficult when there is a population that moves around the world and can easily bring in such disease—not only visitors but New Zealanders themselves.