Ministry Of The Blatantly Obvious
Monday 5 Apr 2004
Heather Roy - Press Releases - Health
ACT New Zealand Health Spokesman Heather Roy today wondered why the Health Ministry spent more of its time
investigating and stating the obvious, than actually trying to address the health issues facing New Zealanders today.
"Hot on the heels of the Ministry's report telling us that not eating enough fruit and veges is the top killer of New
Zealanders, comes today's article that there are serious patient and financial risks identified by the country's 21
District Health Boards," Mrs Roy said.
"I don't know about Health Minister Annette King, but I learnt about the healthy food pyramid when I was a child. The
clear message then was to base your diet on fruit and vegetables. For the Ministry to come out with this `revelation' in
2004 is a staggering waste of resources.
"Now, a Ministry document compiling DHB risk reports has `revealed' what we all know: insufficient funds to cover
health needs and community expectations, growing waiting lists, increasing demand on acute services, and gaps between
Ministry and DHB expectations.
"Since the election I have been saying that keeping patients on waiting lists, as a means of keeping the budget in
check, is not cost-effective. It is frequently cheaper to treat people in a timely manner.
"The Ministry is wasting taxpayers' money to state the obvious, while patients languish on waiting lists. If Labour
really wants to consider the obvious, it should be looking to the private sector, which is able to provide quality
treatment cost-effectively," Mrs Roy said.
ENDS