7. Question No. 7—HealthDr SHANE RETI (National) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 7—Health7. Dr SHANE RETI (National) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by all his statements and actions?Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): Yes. In particular I stand by the actions this Labour Government is taking to rebuild our public health system. We inherited a legacy of chronic under-funding buildings left to rot and the care available to patients having more to do with postcodes than needs. This Government is delivering record investment in health. We are building a whole new mental health system we're making the structural changes that patients and the health workforce have been crying out for and we're doing it all alongside a world-leading response to the global pandemic which has allowed us to move to orange for the long weekend. Orange" we're glad about that!Dr Shane Reti: When he told media in November last year that he would deliver a recruitment campaign for ICU nurses why are there only three ICU nurses in jobs more than five months later?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: The member once again has his figures wrong. So 93 applications have been received following the six weeks of the recruitment campaign that goes through to 30 June; 22 of those applications have been considered and have been referred to DHBs ready to make job offers and three people have been put into work already.Dr Shane Reti: Does he stand by his statement that employing only three ICU nurses after five months is "a good result good progress so far"?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: No. Sadly the member once again continues his track record of getting his figures wrong. He's had to withdraw them once before—no doubt it will happen again. The campaign started in February and it has had 93 people lining up from around the world for it—DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Sorry someone is growling over this side. I don't know—order! I'm on my feet. I'm serious OK? I can't even hear the Minister's answer. If I hear that sound again that person might be leaving the Chamber. Hon ANDREW LITTLE: As I was saying 93 people have applied and are now being actively considered; 22 have completed—DEPUTY SPEAKER: I'm pretty sure that came from that direction. Was that you Mr Bayly? No? Yes well it did come from that direction.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I'll say this for the benefit of Mr Bennett who seems to have a frog in his throat at the very least. So we've had 93 people now enter the system who are now being subject to vetting; 22 have completed the vetting their CVs have been received and they've been referred to DHBs ready to have job offers made to them; and three people are so advanced in the process that they are already working.Dr Shane Reti: Can he confirm that Treasury's recent rating of the ability of the ministry to deliver under his leadership as a D is the worst rating the ministry has ever had in its history and when asked about the D by reporters did he throw hard-working health workers under the bus when they reported "Health Minister Andrew Little was not exactly quick to defend the health system"?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I don't think the House can rely on that member's quoting of the thing. The reality is that we have had a ministry that has been tasked for the last two years to do an extraordinary range of things not only to keep the health system running and monitoring it and doing its own commissioning and a whole bunch of operational activities but also to lead and manage our response to the COVID pandemic. That has put a lot of strain on everybody and I think they can be forgiven for not being absolutely perfect in absolutely everything. But they've done a tremendous job in keeping New Zealanders safe and thousands of New Zealanders alive.Dr Shane Reti: Why would anyone have confidence in a health Minister whose leadership is associated with a D for delivery to now deliver a complete restructure of the entire health system?Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Very easily because we are delivering unlike that member and his party who in nine years in Government when faced with a mental health crisis ignored it when faced with faltering health services ignored them and when they saw buildings crumbling ignored it. This is a Government that takes public health seriously is making the investments and is making the difference."