Scott Lynda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Scott Lynda: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:609;Page:6134] 
6.  
Dr LYNDA SCOTT (NZ National—Kaikoura) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: Will a formal inquiry be held into Capital and Coast District Health Board systems following the deaths of 43-year-old John Russell and 63-year-old Charles Ernest Phillips who were admitted to Wellington Hospital for cardiac surgery and were subsequently sent home twice because of a shortage of intensive-care beds; if not why not? 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Health) 
: 
 A decision to carry out an inquiry into an unexpected death is usually made by the coroner. This is the same inquiry mechanism that was available in 1998-99 when seven people died waiting for publicly funded cardiac procedures at Capital Coast Health under a National Government. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: Does she agree that these two men would be alive today if when their operations were cancelled for the second time they were immediately transferred to a private hospital for their operations; and how many more deaths for ideological reasons can the people of Wellington expect due to Capital and Coast District Health Board’s aversion to any private involvement in health care? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The last part of the question was answered by Capital and Coast District Health Board itself when it said it had no aversion to sending patients to the private sector and that comes from this Government’s protocols to the public sector that we have no problems with it using the private sector for public good. That has been made obvious on many occasions although the member does not wish to hear that.  
In relation to the first part of her question it is always unfortunate when somebody dies but the member may not be aware that one of the people who died died because the intensive-care bed was taken by a patient who was returned from Wakefield the private hospital and therefore bumped the public patient out of the use of that facility. 
Nanaia Mahuta 
: Can the Minister explain what progress has been made in increasing cardiac services? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I am pleased to tell the House that considerable progress has been made in increasing the number of cardiac procedures under this Government. We said we would improve it and we certainly have. In 1996-97 there were 3090 cardiac procedures; in this last financial year there were 4975. That is a 61 percent increase in cardiac procedures up to this Government. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Will she be instigating a formal inquiry in response to the recent audit by Dr Chris Ellis which found that only 20 percent of the 24000 heart patients admitted to New Zealand hospitals each year with heart disease had undergone basic lifesaving investigative techniques such as heart scans exercise techniques or blood vessel X-rays which may have saved their lives and that there is in fact huge variation in cardiac facilities between New Zealand hospitals; if not why not? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: No I will not be undertaking an inquiry. The results of that study came from the work of Dr Chris Ellis and others. They were surprised at that result. They are not asking for an inquiry. They are asking to look at the result of their research to see how it could be improved. 
Dr Lynda Scott 
: Does she think that the offer by Wellington Hospital’s general manager John Coughlan of an overnight stay in hospital and stress counselling as an answer to these two deaths is insulting when what patients need is surgery not sympathy; and how many more patients will have to suffer ideological deaths before she will actually act like the Minister of Health and inquire into these systems? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: The offer from Capital and Coast District Health Board is to ensure that any stress that is on the patient by being sent out of the hospital because it had to postpone an operation is helped through this process. No it will not fix the problem. It does require more operations and I am pleased to say that Capital Coast Health was doing 404 operations under a National Government and Capital and Coast District Health Board is doing 996 under a Labour Government. I just point out to the member that we have a heading here: “Dying for more cardiac surgery”. What date was that? It was 1993 under a National Government and the number of people who were dying was considerably higher than the number who die today. Thank goodness this Government has done something about it. 
Heather Roy 
: Can the Minister undertake that Wakefield Hospital did not lose its contract for heart surgery in June 2001 because of Government ideology; and does she think that those deaths are worth the $1000 extra per life she says in answer to parliamentary questions that it would cost to use the available theatres and surgeons at that private hospital? 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: I can assure the member that the change in the contract from Wakefield Hospital back to Capital and Coast District Health Board’s Wellington Hospital was not as a result of this Minister or this Government.