Stewart Barbara: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Stewart Barbara: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Volume:632;Page:4296] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I am pleased to take a call on the Appropriation (2006/07 Estimates) Bill. This year again there have been some very positive developments in Vote Health. New Zealand First has long said that New Zealand needs a properly funded health system and that as a start we must move towards health expenditure of 10 percent of GDP which many other countries around the world have. We believe this is totally achievable if we have an economic plan to improve our national income. So we definitely support the increased appropriation this year. 
We must acknowledge too that there has been a considerable increase in health spending over the last 7 years and that is to be commended. We now have over $10 billion in total for health and that also must be commended. 
 The fact that the major priorities have been outlined for the 2006-07 year means there is no confusion about where the moneys will be spent so the public of New Zealand can expect some positive outcomes in many areas—for example the health of older people children’s health primary health and obesity. All those areas need some dedicated moneys. 
Unfortunately there are no quick solutions to the many and varied challenges facing the health sector and we are pleased to see that some of the challenges are at last being recognised and worked on. New Zealand First believes that one of the aims of the health service must be to provide New Zealanders with certainty about their health care and to ensure timely access to quality services. This is in part largely successful particularly when it comes to emergency admissions to our hospitals. The Minister has said and the figures show that 75 percent of all hospital admissions come in through the emergency department. It is only the remaining 25 percent of hospital admissions for elective surgery that we hear the most about. That is where the dissatisfaction comes about. The dissatisfaction comes from the mismatch of the public’s expectation and what the system can actually deliver in a timely manner. New Zealand First believes that that needs to be addressed relatively rapidly. 
We applaud the announcement of the additional moneys for the oral health of New Zealand children. We know that the school dental service and the Adolescent Dental Benefits Scheme were both in dire straits—and perhaps to some extent still are—and that fewer than 40 percent of eligible preschoolers are enrolled in the school dental service. The Government has recognised that we no longer have the first-class service that existed in years gone by and has moved to rectify the situation. This funding is a step in the right direction. 
We will be very keen to see in action the process for allocating the funds. When we split the $40.8 million between 21 district health boards it is fairly obvious that district health boards will not be able to make much of an impact on children’s oral health with that amount of money. We know that some district health boards have proposed projects of $10 million and if we do the calculation we find that that is 25 percent of the total amount that one district health board wants to spend. 
We have been reassured by the Minister of Health that those with business cases approved later on in the year will still have the funds available. We will be most interested to see how that will work. We know that oral health is important to a child’s health or to a young person’s health overall. 
In the area of the elderly we believe that the Minister of Health must honour his commitment to ensure that the money in this year’s Budget for elder care is passed on promptly and in full. The key to that is to ensure that the district health boards deal fairly with the providers in the sector. Allocating funds in the Budget will be absolutely pointless unless they get to their intended destination. We know that low pay rates and the lack of training that carers of the elderly receive is a situation that must be corrected if we are to see sustained improvements in this industry.