Macindoe Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Macindoe Tim: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:662;Page:10608] 
4. 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Does he stand by all his statements on health services? 
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) 
: 
 Yes including the statement that under this Government more front-line health services are being delivered than ever before. In particular in the last year nearly 13000 more patients received elective surgery which was four times the average increase under Labour. A major contributor to that outstanding result has been Waikato District Health Board which delivered operations for 1825 more elective patients than in the previous year an increase of over 17 percent. 
Tim Macindoe 
: What reports has he received in relation to delivering even more front-line services at the Waikato District Health Board? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I can confirm that the Government has approved the design of the new $125 million Waikato Clinical Centre and additions to the campus redevelopment. Included in these new approvals is a further increase in new operating theatres in the Waikato. These will be part of a new midland region elective surgical centre which is part of the Government’s commitment to establish new dedicated elective surgery theatres across the country. The Government believes our doctors and nurses can deliver even more elective surgery by having dedicated elective surgery theatres so that patients are not disappointed when their operations are cancelled because of emergency surgery requirements. 
Hon Damien O’Connor 
: Will the Minister give in this House today an assurance that beds used for older people in need of continuing care at Murchison Hospital and Health Centre which was opened only in 2007 will not be closed? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I am meeting with the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board tomorrow. I can tell that member that there is quite a lot of interest in Murchison in improving the services for people in that community and being able to provide more care closer to home which is the commitment of this Government. 
Tim Macindoe 
: What other reports has he seen on advancing the delivery of care close to home? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: A large number of pregnant women in the Thames area are choosing to have their babies out of town because of the poor physical standard of the birthing facilities at Thames. A survey by the district health board has found that more than 90 percent of local women would give birth in Thames if a new primary birthing facility was available in the Coromandel. I can confirm that the district health board has signed a contract with a local builder for a new Thames primary birthing unit. This purpose-built facility will have two birthing rooms a birthing pool three bedrooms for longer post-natal stays and a breastfeeding room and each bedroom and birthing room will have its own en suite bathroom. 
Hon Annette King 
: If he has put an extra $536 million into district health boards as he constantly claims why were people who need eye operations at Nelson Hospital told today that they will now have to wait until they get worse and lose vision or go privately for care; and is he concerned about the comments from Nelson ophthalmologist Derek Sherwood who said “It’s difficult for us as clinicians because we’re used to providing a reasonably good service …”? 
Hon TONY RYALL 
: I say to those people in Nelson that they are getting a much better service than they did when that member was the Minister of Health. I can tell people that in the last year Nelson Marlborough District Health Board provided 26 percent more ophthalmology surgery than it did previously and that it is providing a good number of assessments. The current issues relate to some staffing problems. As we know when that member opposite was the Minister of Health her Government doubled the budget for health and got a lot less in return for it.