Health Funding, Not Illness Levels, Must Increase

Eleanor Carter, Spokesperson Health Cuts Hurt Inc

Health Funding, Not Illness Levels, Must Increase

“The Government needs to be budgeting for further significant rises in the health budget rather than criticising Health Boards for raising the level of sickness needed to get an operation,” newly re-elected Chairperson of Health Cuts Hurt, Eleanor Carter said today. She was commenting on reports that further thousands of Cantabrians and others throughout New Zealand had been referred back to their GPs.

“More funding for Hospitals is needed rather than this impossible system of returning hordes back to their GPs so that DHBs are fulfilling the 6 month action requirements by Government,” said Eleanor Carter. “Health Cuts Hurt was set up because of the 10,000 Cantabrians slashed from waiting list in 2003 due to underfunding from the Population Based Funding formula. Now it is a nationwide problem as the Government’s primary care strategy allows more illness to be detected by GPs with in turn more referrals for specialist assessment.”

“The problem, however, is that our public hospitals are not adequately resourced to meet this increased demand. The Government wrongly assumed that the primary care strategy would lead to less pressure on our public hospitals,” said Eleanor Carter.

“People deserve treatment when they need it and that is what all Kiwis expect in a tax paying system,” said Eleanor Carter. “Health Cuts Hurt is calling for the Government to increase the size of the health cake in the coming budget “.

ENDS

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