3. Question No. 3—HealthHon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Labour) to the Minister of HealthQuestion No. 3—Health3. Hon Dr AYESHA VERRALL (Labour) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his description of Commissioner Lester Levy's view of Health New Zealand's financial situation it's not underfunding it's overspending" and does he agree with that analysis?Hon Dr SHANE RETI (Minister of Health): Thank you Mr Speaker. Yes we are a Government that's committed to delivering better public health services. Vote Health will receive nearly $30 billion in funding this year with Budget 2024 also seeing the largest ever commitment to funding for the sector with a boost of $16.68 billion across three Budgets. However we know that funding alone will not fix the issues that we inherited. We must get better at delivering health outcomes against the funding we put in. That is why one tool we have brought back is health targets to drive timely access to quality healthcare. If the only target in health is spending money then the system will never genuinely improve. That is why we have focused our targets on patient outcomes. New Zealanders require a health system that works when they need it and we're committed to delivering that.Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: Is Masterton hospital's shortage of 40 nurses—leaving staff burnt out demoralised and unable to adequately supervise the care of dementia patients—a result of overspending or underfunding?Hon Dr SHANE RETI: I'm aware of the shortage of staff at Wairarapa Hospital and Health New Zealand is working actively to redress that. I am encouraged by the hundreds of new people who have come into the health sector including nurses and doctors every month under Health New Zealand recently.Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: Is the repeated closure of understaffed Buller hospital where a dying man sought medical attention the result of overspending or underfunding?Hon Dr SHANE RETI: I presume she's not meaning the same Buller hospital that several months after she opened it in May last year was temporarily closed. I presume it's that same hospital. If that's the case then I won't be pre-empting the serious incident review that's taking place with that. But I do indeed extend sympathy to the families. It's a sad situation.Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: Are the doctors at Hutt Hospital being told to make beds and clean medical equipment a result of overspending or underfunding?Hon Dr SHANE RETI: That's a policy issue for Health New Zealand and we have a different understanding of what's been happening there. In fact what we're understanding is that policy continued under that member's watch as well.Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: Is the instruction to doctors at Rotorua's emergency department to also work at Taupō's emergency department a two-hour return trip away the result of overspending or underfunding?Hon Dr SHANE RETI: That's an example of regionalisation when you get to distribute resources so that you get maximum benefit for patient outcomes across an area. An attempt that that member tried to make in the previous Government but couldn't get regionalisation over the line.Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall: Are doctorless hospitals in Dargaville Porirua and Taupō a result of overspending or underfunding?Hon Dr SHANE RETI: They're a consequence of health workforce shortages that Health New Zealand is seeking to rapidly address."