Wagner Nicky: New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Wagner Nicky: New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
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NICKY WAGNER (National) 
: 
 I rise to support the second reading of the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill. This bill is all about increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our public health system and it has been supported widely. I thank the submitters for their thoughtful work and everyone who was involved with the select committee process on this bill. Health costs are rising everywhere in the world so in the face of a global recession and for the long term we need to get more bang for our buck in health care. With an ageing population and increased demand for new health technologies and services the New Zealand public health system faces enormous fiscal challenges. 
When the National Government came to power it commissioned an expert ministerial review group to make recommendations on how we could run our health system more efficiently and more effectively. The expert group developed a set of over 170 recommendations and this bill progresses some of them. The bill is designed to drive better value for money out of the public health sector with the intention of providing a framework to foster economies of scale through national and regional cooperation in the sector and to reduce duplication and bureaucracy. It also provides a greater focus on patient safety and supports health professionals in their call for an independent clinician-led agency to drive quality improvement across the health service. 
The Health Quality and Safety Commission will be established as a stand-alone Crown entity and will bring a focus on quality and safety not previously achieved. All New Zealanders are keen to see improved quality and safety in health care. Adverse health events—that is when things go wrong—are tragic for individuals and families but also they are very expensive. It is estimated that avoidable adverse events cost the public health service between $500 million and $600 million every year. Obviously we will never be able to be 100 percent error free but even a 20 percent reduction in errors could save us over $100 million a year. That money could be reinvested in front-line health services. 
The bill drives improved efficiency by encouraging the provision of shared administration support and procurement services across the public health system. Our goal is to improve health outcomes and cost-effectiveness by increased system collaboration across the district health boards and for the planning and accountability of each district health board to take into account national regional and local requirements. In the past one of the obstacles to increased collaboration was the wording of the current New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act but this new bill provides a mechanism to fix it. In addition to help facilitate collaboration at a local level the bill enables the appointment of elected members to more than one district health board. It is hoped that that change will bring boards closer together and improve working relationships teamwork and cooperation. To cover all eventualities the bill also amends regulation-making powers relating to the arbitration and mediation to manage any disputes between district health boards. 
This bill is part of the National Government’s move to dramatically improve health services in New Zealand. It is part of a drive to cut bureaucratic costs in health and to invest in front-line staffing. We have already increased the number of doctors and nurses working in the system. We have dramatically increased the number of people getting elective surgery. We have cut emergency department waiting times and time spent waiting for cancer radiation treatment. We have also ensured that all cancer patients can be treated in New Zealand rather than being sent to Australia as happened under the previous Labour Government. 
This is a good bill. It will increase efficiency and effectiveness. I commend the bill to the House.