11. Health Services—Elective SurgeryDr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North) to the Minister of HealthHealth Services—Elective Surgery11. Dr DAVID CLARK (Labour—Dunedin North) to the Minister of Health: Does he stand by his statement in regards to elective surgeries we've been very transparent around the targets we are hitting those targets"?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): Absolutely; especially the statement that elective surgeries have risen by around 50000 under National compared with only 10000 under Labour.Dr David Clark: Can he confirm that when you take out eye injections skin lesion removals and other surgeries that could have been performed outside of hospitals the Auckland District Health Board and the Counties Manukau District Health Board in 2015-16 despite a growing population performed fewer surgeries compared with the previous year?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Well I would not underrate those Avastin eye injections. They are for the treatment of macular degeneration which leads to blindness. Also that skin surgery is pretty complex and I would not underrate that either especially for patients who have a complex melanoma on their back and who might need it removed under general anaesthetic. But what I can confirm is that even if you were to take out the 20000-odd eye injections and skin lesions from the total which it would not be valid to do we would still be doing a 20000 increase on what Labour did.Dr David Clark: Can he confirm that when you take out eye injections skin lesion removals and other surgeries that could have been performed outside of hospitals the Bay of Plenty District Health Board and the Waikato District Health Board performed fewer surgeries compared with the previous year?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I am very surprised that with the member's party's record on this he wants to ask these questions. But what I can confirm is that if you take out every type of important surgery that we have done we would not have done any.Dr David Clark: Does he think that district health boards that are paying for half of the Government's targets out of their own budgets are incentivised to focus on eye injections to meet targets instead of funding additional hospital beds like in Dunedin Hospital?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: The member needs to understand that this is all public money and of course there is another $888 million of money that went from the public to fund the health service last year. What I can say is that the numbers of elective surgeries have greatly exceeded the target—the 4000 uplift—that we have set over time. Last year we planned to deliver 186000 surgeries; we actually delivered 200000. That is unlike the year when Mrs King—I hate to criticise her because she was a very good Opposition spokesperson—delivered 2000 fewer surgeries.Dr David Clark: What urgent action is he taking to ensure there are additional beds for surgery in Dunedin Hospital right now so that patients do not keep having vital operations cancelled like Amber Gibbs; Allan Sutton cancelled three times; Merv Telfer cancelled seven times; and Owen Glover who did not make it to surgery and passed away in his home after four postponed appointments?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: I am not familiar with those individuals but of course it is important that surgeries are performed in a timely manner. That is why it is absolutely important that over the last 8 years we have increased the numbers of elective surgeries in Southern District Health Board by 2700—Grant Robertson: What's going wrong then Jonathan?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: What is going wrong is your spokesperson.Dr David Clark: Does the Minister think it is acceptable that at one point yesterday afternoon there was not a single ICU bed available in the whole of the South Island?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: As per usual I would have to check that member's assertions."