Fenton Darien: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Fenton Darien: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:629;Page:1805] 
12.  
DARIEN FENTON (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: What progress has been made towards increasing the capacity of BreastScreen Aotearoa? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Considerable. Breast-screening capacity has increased significantly since the age extension of the breast-screening programme. By the end of December 2005 over 200000 women had been screened since the start of the age extension programme. That is a 21 percent increase in just 12 months. 
Darien Fenton 
: Which communities have new breast-screening facilities? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: New facilities were opened for BreastScreen Waitemata Northland in December last year and for BreastScreen Counties Manukau last month. A new purpose-built facility was opened in Palmerston North last week and in the course of this calendar year a number of other purpose-built facilities will open. As well there will be still more mobile units. 
Dr Jackie Blue 
: Why does the Government not admit that it has acted irresponsibly when it has known for over 2 years that by extending eligibility to BreastScreen Aotearoa more women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and we still do not have enough people to treat these women? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Every time a screening programme is launched or extended there has to be certainty of a high chance of adequate appropriate follow-up treatment—whatever is needed. That is why this roll-out occurring quickly as it is did not occur instantly for precisely that reason. 
Tariana Turia 
: How will the Minister address the fact that Maori women have a 47.7 percent higher death rate from breast cancer than non-Maori women; and what is their access rate to breast screening? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I do not have the numbers to hand as to the access rate for Maori but we know that it is lower than for non-Maori. We know that Maori women die partly because of their access to screening being lower. The Counties Manukau screening programme as an example is adamant that it can reach more Maori women in the extended age group sooner rather than later and is committed to doing so. But I am pleased to advise the member that in some parts of New Zealand including where I come from the screening rate for Maori women has now reached the target. I do not know of any other indigenous population anywhere else in the world where that has happened. 
Tariana Turia 
: Why is it that the Government accepts that so many women are losing their breasts because they cannot access the drug Herceptin? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I said in answer to an earlier question that Medsafe is due to make its decision available next week and that it is to the best of my knowledge the first regulatory authority in the world to examine the licensing of Herceptin. Therefore anybody’s suggestion to the effect that this country is dragging the chain is demonstrably palpably wrong. But I make a further point that if one wants to take a cost-effectiveness approach to this issue then the member’s first question is a much more important one. Extending breast screening to a higher level of Maori women than we have reached at the moment will save a lot of lives.