Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:634;Page:5549] 
8. Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (National—Northcote) 
 on behalf of  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: What assurances can he give that the Government’s recently announced funding for 10000 extra elective procedures each year will deliver that extra elective surgery and why? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Before the Government’s announcements all district health boards were consulted and all indicated that they could perform more surgery if they received more funding. In the coming months district health boards will set targets for increased delivery of elective surgery and we will be able to say what types of surgery will be boosted in what regions. 
Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: Can the Minister confirm that in the first year of the Labour Government 98000 New Zealanders got elective surgery but 6 years and $4 billion later just over 95000 individuals got elective surgery and what makes him think that $50 million a year will buy more surgery when $4 billion per year bought less? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: If the member wishes to compare the last year of his Government with the current year of this Government he will find that 6000 more New Zealanders are getting surgery now. When this policy is implemented 16000 more New Zealanders will be getting surgery than are getting it now and that is not counting the so-called non-admitted patient database that we have only just started collecting. 
Ann Hartley 
: What reports has the Minister received on alternative approaches to managing the elective surgical system? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I have seen one report that says that delaying surgery for longer than the Government policy of 6 months will lead to dangerous complications and that our main concern should be to see “operations performed as soon as possible”. I have seen a second report that the 6-month policy for elective surgery was designed for cynical political purposes and is merely playing with statistics. The first report is from Dr Don Brash and is the stated policy of the National Party. The second report is from National’s health spokesperson Tony Ryall who apparently is not yet familiar with his party’s views on this issue. 
Barbara Stewart 
: Can the Minister assure all New Zealanders that the restructuring of pathology services currently being carried out by several district health boards will not result in poorer quality or delayed diagnoses which in turn would impact on the performance of extra elective surgery? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The member should be aware—and I would be happy to give her further detail—that the quality of laboratory services whether community pathology or hospital pathology is the bottom line that may not be breached. 
Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: How does the number of New Zealanders promised extra operations through this funding compare with the number of New Zealanders who have already been culled from waiting lists this year? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Just from memory and just roughly about 4000 New Zealanders were returned to general practitioners this year without receiving surgery. A little over 100000— 
Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: 28000! 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I have the answer. The member asked the question. If the member has the answer he did not need to bother asking the question did he? Here comes the answer. Just over 100000 New Zealanders got surgery. Around 4000— 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Members will be leaving the Chamber unless members can be heard. 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: A little over 100000 New Zealanders received elective surgical services this year—they got their operations. About 4000 people or a little over were returned to their general practitioners without getting their operations and about 10000 extra people will be getting their operations from this policy. 
Heather Roy 
: How many of the 10000 extra operations promised will be allocated for surgery for breast cancer sufferers when surgery could have been avoided had Pharmac followed the lead of many other OECD countries and funded Herceptin; or are financial considerations the Minister’s No. 1 priority and alleviating pain and suffering second? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I answer that question gently by saying that it was a number sufficiently small that we did not think it was worth a $30 million per annum investment. 
Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: What has forced the Minister to change his opinion from previous months when he said: “we have reason to be confident in the overall state of elective surgery.” and when he called critics of the level of elective surgery “crisis mongers”; is it bad polling or facing the fact that under his watch 28000 New Zealanders have been culled from waiting lists? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: When people say of the New Zealand health system that it is “rotten to the core” or “fundamentally flawed” or use language of that ilk I happily respond and defend our health system. However the point at stake is that we can either provide good services to the population of New Zealand or we can go ahead with reckless tax cuts. We had an election about that a year ago; we won. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I tell members that comments like that across the Chamber start to cause disorder from both sides. Would members please settle. 
Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: Can the Minister confirm that the health budget increased by $750 million last year but that the number of patients getting elective surgery actually fell by 2000 people; would he explain why he thinks spending $50 million will see 10000 additional people get elective surgery every year? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Because I am buying centrally and because I am paying on delivery. 
Dr Jonathan Coleman 
: What is worse for the Minister—being ridiculed by the doctors because they have lost confidence in him being ridiculed by the public because they do not believe him or being ridiculed by his own back-benchers because they no longer respect him? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I might respond by asking when the member stopped beating his wife. The long and short of it is that New Zealand has a very good health system and under this Government it is getting better.