Wagner Nicky: New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Wagner Nicky: New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
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NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 I rise to support the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill at its third reading. All parties in the House support this bill which is designed to increase efficiency and effectiveness in the public health system. We all know and are concerned about the increasing costs of care throughout the world and in New Zealand and faced with an ageing population and increasing demand for new technologies and services it means that focusing on cost-effectiveness and high-quality services is essential. 
This bill is based on the recommendations of the expert ministerial review group which was commissioned when National came into Government. The bill provides a framework to introduce national and regional cooperation and to reduce duplication of back-office functions. It also supports a greater focus on patient safety across the health sector and responds to the call from health professionals for an independent commission and an agency to step up quality involvement across the whole sector. The bill received very positive support from the 13 submitters. They supported the moves to improve the coordination of planning at local regional and national levels and there was also support for an enhanced quality of health care and the reduction of duplication. 
The bill also establishes a new Crown entity called the Health Quality and Safety Commission. Its function is to promote and support better quality and safety in health and disability support services to determine quality and safety indicators and to advise the Minister on any health epidemiology and quality-assurance matters. There is very good support for improved quality and for an improvement in the coordination of health services and in the level of cooperation and collaboration between health sector agencies. There is also support for the need to drive better value for money in the public health sector given the tight funding environment and the inexorable increase in demand for health care services. 
The Nurses Organisation supported the direction of the bill and saw it as “filling the gaps in the current health framework without the need for major restructuring”. It also noted that it was the intention of the bill to improve the functioning of the health system to deliver better sooner more convenient health services for all New Zealanders. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists commented on the need to increase collaboration between district health boards and to reduce the unnecessary duplication of resources in such a small country. It is hoped that the opportunity that this bill provides for district health board members to sit on more than one district health board will increase understanding between boards and foster closer working relationships. The bill also provides rules for mediation and arbitration to cover disputes between district health boards. 
This is an important bill. It has been well supported in the Health Committee and in the House and it will help the health sector to deliver better-quality and more cost-effective health services across the country. I commend it to the House.