King Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 12 April 2016. Volume:713;Page:10366. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Health: Does he agree with the findings of the recent TNS survey showing about 174000 New Zealanders are in need of publicly funded surgery but have not been placed on a waiting list; if not why not?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health): No. The telephone survey by the health insurance industry of people’s perceptions of what they need is not the same as being medically assessed as being in need. Over 7 years this Government has lifted the number of specialist appointments by 25 percent and the number of operations by 41 percent. The only answer to increasing demand is to do more and we are.Hon Annette King: In light of that answer why does he dismiss the TNS New Zealand survey showing 174000 people are blocked from elective surgery as just the Health Funds Association of New Zealand trying to “drum up business” when his ministry used the same global research company to carry out research for the Government. Was that research shonky?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Why I do not agree with them is because we now have literally a handful of people waiting over 6 months for surgery—unlike 8 years ago when there were 30000 people waiting for over 6 months for surgery—and only 2000 waiting for over 4 months. It is very different to 8 years ago when $3 billion extra went into the Budget to deliver 2000 fewer operations and 7000 fewer appointments—under Mrs King of course.Hon Annette King: Having had time to read the research published last week in the New Zealand Medical Journal does he agree with the findings that patients currently being returned to their GP without an operation would have qualified for publicly funded surgery during the 2006-10 period; if not why not?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: They may or may not have—I mean there are different surgical thresholds around the country. All we do know is that back in the period that the member mentioned 31000 people were kicked off surgical waiting lists by her.Hon Annette King: If he has read the research published in the New Zealand Medical Journal on 1 April will he now correct his Associate Minister’s answer from last week that hip and knee operations were up by 10 percent for the Southern District Health Board when the latest figures show that there has been nearly a 10 percent decrease—decrease—since 2011?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: No. I dispute Mrs King’s figures and I am not going to correct the Associate Minister’s answer. I think that he did a really good job in showing you up actually.Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The Minister should not bring the Speaker into the debate.Hon Annette King: I seek leave to table an Official Information Act request delivered on 7 April 2016 by the Ministry of Health for the Southern District Health Board showing a 10 percent decrease.Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought to table that particular information. Is there any objection? There is none.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Annette King: When he said today that “there’s a difference between surgery people actually need and surgery people think they need.” does he really believe that people wake up in the morning and think: “I’d like to have an operation today. I feel like going under the knife. My pain is just phantom pain. I fancy one of those”—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Bring the question to a conclusion.Hon Annette King: —“hospital meals that the Minister tried.”?Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN: Firstly I am very glad to hear that the member is following my interviews on Newstalk ZB so closely. I notice that she actually had the opportunity to try one of those hospital meals yesterday in Dunedin but I guess the crisis talks were so intense that there was no opportunity to go and front up and do what she challenged me to do. I did and it was a very good meal. Why do you not man up and do it yourself because you think you are so tough?Hon Annette King: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is impossible for me to “man up”—I am a woman.Mr SPEAKER: And a very capable one as well. [Interruption] Order! We return now to question time.