Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Kedgley Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:620;Page:15664] 
8.  
SUE KEDGLEY (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Does she accept responsibility for the safety of patients in New Zealand hospitals? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Associate Minister of Health) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister of Health 
: Of course every Minister takes his or her share of responsibility for the outcomes in his or her particular portfolio area—in this case the health system. But no Minister can take total responsibility for every action that occurs in a hospital as decisions are made by health professionals on an hourly basis. I would refute any suggestion or implication that the vast majority of clinicians do not make sound decisions in the interests of their patients. 
Sue Kedgley 
: How can the Minister assure patients that they will be safe in our hospitals when emergency department nurses at North Shore Hospital are signing letters every day that state that they cannot guarantee patients’ safety because of staff shortages and huge workloads; and if someone were to suffer or even to die as a result of the lack of nursing care in such a situation who would be responsible? Would it be the Minister? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: In the event of any untoward incident that resulted from inadequacies in the hospital system there are health and disability commissioners and other procedures that can investigate that. The Government on behalf of New Zealanders is therefore responsible for that kind of supervision and will take responsibility for it. 
Judith Collins 
: Will the Minister ever take any serious action to remedy the situation that last week saw one nurse looking after 12 patients in North Shore Hospital’s emergency care centre when the accepted ratio is one nurse to four patients in emergency care? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: The answer is yes. 
Barbara Stewart 
: Does the Minister accept responsibility for the cost overruns on the new acute assessment unit in Hastings which is having to be strengthened to ensure patient and staff safety and which has been estimated by the chair of the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board to be costing the board over $50000 a day; if she does not who will take responsibility for that poorly managed project? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is very wide of the original question but the Minister can reply. 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Quite simply that is a district health board responsibility and the accountability and responsibility for that lie at the local level. 
Sue Kedgley 
: What does the Minister say to Paula Barnett a nurse at North Shore Hospital who said on National Radio recently: “It’s just an untenable working situation—untenable for staff to try to provide anything like compassionate care or even adequate care or safe care and it’s just ghastly for patients and families.” 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: I would say to her that this Government has done more proactively to assist the public health system of New Zealand than any recent Government in living memory. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Does the Minister agree with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation that: “Dangerous overcrowding at North Shore Hospital’s emergency department is part of a nationwide crisis” and when will she exercise political leadership and intervene to ensure patients are not being put at risk by unsafe levels of nursing staff as she is entitled to do under the Health and Disability Services (Safety) Act? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: Any Government or any member of this House is going to be concerned about conditions in hospitals of course. But I say to the member that if there is a crisis in the hospital system now it would pale into insignificance in comparison to what it would have been if the National Party or the ACT party was on the Government side of the House and running its health system. 
Sue Kedgley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It was interesting to hear the Minister’s contemplations— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: What is the point of order? 
Sue Kedgley 
: The point of order is that he did not attempt to address the issue. He just talked about historic experiences. I asked when the Minister of Health would exercise political leadership and intervene in that event to ensure patient safety. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Perhaps the Minister could address that issue. 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: The Minister does exactly that on every single day that she is in office. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Does the Minister agree that she has a responsibility under the Act to intervene when patient safety is clearly at risk as it was for example on 25 August when the emergency department at North Shore Hospital had 11 staff responsible for up to 12 patients each instead of the safe level of four had 42 patients in 25 beds had all corridor spaces and more filled creating a health and fire hazard and had four patients isolated with methicillin-resistant  
Staphyolcoccus 
aureus 
 etc. etc.? 
Hon JIM ANDERTON 
: When the Minister is advised or has information that there are serious safety issues in hospitals I am sure that she does intervene and act in accordance with the responsibility she has. 
Barbara Stewart 
: I seek leave to table an article from the  
Dominion Post  
of 15 September titled: “Quake fears lead to demands for back-up hospital”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that article. Is there any objection? There is.