Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Ryall Tony: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:629;Page:1280] 
8.  
Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) 
 to the  
Minister of Health 
: What did he mean when on Friday morning he said: “officials are now of the view that the quality of care at Focus is no better or worse than the quality of care anywhere else around the country.” and is he satisfied with that quality of care provided by Focus? 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister of Health) 
: 
 I meant what I said. However within an hour of my making that statement on Friday morning new information was provided to me and to officials that changed our view significantly. I can no longer express satisfaction with the care provided by Focus 2000 and have directed officials to meet with Focus 2000 this week to begin investigating a number of potentially serious allegations. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: The Minister having said on radio this morning that he was embarrassed to have given such an undertaking without knowing the full story what is the nature of the new information or allegations that he has received? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I am not going to give—indeed it is not in the national interest for me to give—details of the new information or indeed the sources of that new information. But I will say to the member that the information came from a variety of sources mainly during the course of Friday and a little more over the weekend. 
Ann Hartley 
: Has the Government increased funding for disability support services; if so by how much? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: Yes we have; by a lot. The increase in disability support services funding in the 12 months ended 1 July last year was about $100 million or about 16 percent. Investments like this can be made only by a Government that does not put reckless unaffordable tax cuts ahead of quality public services. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Is the Minister going to leave this investigation of Focus 2000 in the hands of the same bureaucrats who have let the problem continue for the last 2 to 3 years? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The member seems to be unaware that it is normal practice for the Ministry of Health to contract independent quality auditors when it wants a quality audit done. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: If the Minister was expressing confidence in Focus 2000 amid reports of deaths mistreatment and understaffing then just how serious is the new rash of information and complaints that has prompted this action? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: The reports of deaths and people being injured—and in fact serious overpayment to this outfit Focus 2000—go back 2 3 and mainly 4 years. The reason that this has surfaced as an issue in 2006 is that a report leaked by persons unknown gave rise to further debate around the activities of Focus 2000. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: Why has it taken the Minister so long to recognise the inadequacies of the Ministry of Health’s disability auditing system which has been described as a seriously flawed tick-box arrangement and which was rejected by the Standards and Monitoring Services Trust 2 years ago because it did not enshrine a quality of life - based philosophy? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: I think the member must be confusing the range of audits that take place. A bunch of audits—typically named “certification”—are there to ensure that there are minimum standards. There is a bunch of financial audits which are self-explanatory and there is a bunch of quality audits. In the case of quality audits the auditor typically independent of the ministry actively questions residents or clients and parents or friends of residents or clients to ensure that the outfit being audited is satisfactory. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: Does the Minister accept the claim that under the new auditing system of certification it is possible for an agency to receive a certificate based on the audit of a small selection of its homes and that some homes could be certified without an auditor setting foot in the door; and what does he intend to do about it? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: No. 
Dr Paul Hutchison 
: Does the Minister feel embarrassed by his remark on  
Morning Report 
 last week to the effect that the services provided by Focus 2000 are no better or worse than those of any other service provider in the country and will he here and now apologise to the thousands of disabled people whom he has insulted? 
Hon PETE HODGSON 
: My remarks at 7.30 a.m. on Friday were based on information available to me at that time. Within an hour new information had arrived that occasioned me to have a further meeting with the Ministry of Health which later that day said that further investigations would now take place.