Hon Peter Dunne
Associate Minister of Health

Speech to Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and Boulcott Hospital - Royal Wellington Golf Club

Good afternoon and thank you to Mark Futter for introducing me, and to Boulcott Hospital for sponsoring this event. I know that the 2015 Business Expo was held in Petone this week.

It is great to hear that the business community is supporting each other and learning from each other’s successes. The Government is also committed to creating an environment that will help businesses to invest, grow and succeed.

Today I would like to talk about some of the future challenges that the health system faces, and what the Government is doing to keep New Zealanders healthy for as long as possible.

Increase in health spending

Our country has a world class health service that we can be proud of.

New Zealanders enjoy better health than people in other developed economies, and New Zealanders report that they are largely happy with the health services they receive.

This is because the Government has made it a priority to increase investment in health despite tough economic times. This year, an extra $1.7 billion over four years was allocated to the public health sector.

The total health budget is now $15.9 billion, which accounts for more than 20 percent of government spending. However, the current happiness of New Zealanders with the health system should not be taken a reason for complacency – there are still many challenges to be met.

Preparing for the challenges ahead

It is likely that health will continue to make up an increasing proportion of Government spending in the future, but we simply cannot keep increasing that proportion forever.

In its rare, more rational moments not even the mainstream of the Labour Party believes that. There are two trends that are increasing the demand for health services. The first is that our population is aging and living longer.

The number of people over 65 is predicted to double in the next 20 years to around 1.2 million. This has implications for businesses. According to the Workforce Ageing Survey 2014, more people are staying in the workplace past the age of 65.

We will need older people to continue to participate in work because it is projected that New Zealand will have a shortage of skills and labour in the future.

Another implication for businesses is the increasing number of employees that will be caring for an older family member.

Businesses may need to think strategically about how they can support their employees who have caring responsibilities for elderly, by alleviating some of the pressures they may face. The second increasing trend is the number of New Zealanders living with long-term conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and respiratory diseases.

This will have an increasing impact on businesses, which will bear the costs of lost productivity and work absences. Therefore, the health system needs to keep people healthy for longer, and ensure that people can access health care easily, especially as they get older.

Supporting people to be healthy

To meet the challenges of the future, the Government is investing in a number of health prevention initiatives that can help people stay in good health.

Healthy Families NZ is the Government’s flagship prevention platform.

It is a large-scale initiative that brings community leadership together to take action against the rising rate of preventable long-term conditions.

Healthy Families NZ is challenging communities to think differently about the underlying causes of poor health, and to make changes — in our schools, workplaces, sports clubs, marae, and other key community settings.

It is being implemented in 10 locations across NZ, including Lower Hutt. The Hutt City Council has been selected to lead local implementation. The Government is investing $3 million in Healthy Families Lower Hutt over four years and it will officially be launched next month.

Healthy Families Lower Hutt has recently employed a dedicated prevention workforce. The workforce will be working with local leaders and organisations, to coordinate action that will drive the necessary changes to support good health. Everyone has a role to play in laying the foundations for a healthier future.

It is great to hear that the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce has already connected with the team at Healthy Families Lower Hutt, and is taking a leadership role in health.

Green Prescriptions is another Government initiative that is supporting people to be healthier.

Patients with type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes, or those who are overweight, can get a Green Prescription from their GP or practice nurse.

These prescriptions provide access to support and advice on nutrition and physical activity to help people manage a range of conditions, such as weight problems and high blood pressure.

Nearly 48,000 Green Prescription referrals were issued in the last financial year. Feedback about the programme has been encouraging. The latest Green Prescriptions Patient Survey found that 72 percent of respondents noticed positive changes in their health, and 58 percent of respondents continued to be more active six months after receiving their prescription.

In my primary role as the Minister of Internal Affairs, I am responsible for many of the Government’s on-line services, including the registration of births, deaths and marriages.

Since April this year, on-line registration of new births has been possible. The uptake has been phenomenal – well over 70% of new births being registered are now being registered on-line.

The relevance to the health system is that new-born babies are now being connected into the health system faster than ever before, which is another example of how external co-operation is making for a healthier future.

Providing services closer to home

Another way the Government is supporting people’s health is by providing health services closer to home.

A lot of work is being done around the country to link community health services with hospital services so that people receive coordinated and seamless care.

The health system is also making better use of the health professionals who work in the community. One of my priorities as Associate Minister of Health is to enhance the role of community pharmacists. They are often the first point of contact for people seeking health care or advice.

Pharmacists can work with other health professionals to ensure the right people receive the right services at the right time. In 2013, the Government passed regulations to allow suitably qualified pharmacists to prescribe or modify certain medications and order and view laboratory test results.

This enables pharmacists to easily identify and help the patients that need extra support with their medications. I recently visited an award winning pharmacy in Whangarei and was hugely impressed at the service they offered to their community, which I hope in time we will see continuing to develop around the country, including here in the Hutt.

The Government is also helping people see their local doctor by subsidising the cost of GP visits. For example, in Budget 2014, an additional $90 million over four years was allocated to fund the Zero Fees for Under 13s scheme. This scheme provides for children under 13 to see a doctor for free at any time of the day, seven days a week, and receive prescriptions for free.

Ninety eight percent of general practices across the country have signed up to this scheme. This makes it easier for families to get the medical attention their child needs without having to worry about cost.

Patient portals

The closest and fastest way people can get support for their health is in their homes. That is why the Government is investing in IT initiatives to increase people’s access to health care.

A significant IT initiative is the use of online patient portals. Patient portals are secure online sites provided by GPs.

People can log onto to a portal site and view and manage aspects of their own healthcare, such as booking appointments, requesting repeat prescriptions and messaging clinical staff.

More than 75,000 patients from 181 general practices use a patient portal service. Practices have seen the benefits of patient portals, with GPs and nurses able to spend more time with patients and less time spent on administration.

Improving performance

Although health care is shifting closer to home, the Government is still committed to increasing people’s access to hospital services.

DHBs are continuing to improve their performance in hospital services, as shown by the results of the Government’s health targets. The ‘Shorter stay in Emergency Department’ target aims for 95 percent of patients being seen, treated, or admitted within six hours.

According to the latest results, DHBs were able to achieve this target for the second consecutive quarter of the year. It is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of hospital staff, especially as the winter months are challenging times for emergency departments. DHBs have also made significant gains in the ‘improved access to elective surgery target’.

The target is to increase the volume of elective surgery by at least 4000 discharges a year.

All 20 DHBs achieved this target in 2014/15, and provided an additional 10,600 surgeries than originally planned for. Private providers are also making a positive contribution to improving access and reducing waiting times for diagnostic tests and treatment.

A number of DHBs have long-term contracts with private hospitals to increase capacity and meet the demand for elective surgery, where appropriate.

Boulcott Hospital’s excellent relationship with Hutt Valley DHB is a great example of how the private and public health sector can exist in partnership in the community.

Quality health care

Quality and safety is also an important component of a high performing health system. As Associate Minister of Health, I oversee the work of the Health Quality and Safety Commission.

The Commission undertakes a wide range of initiatives aimed at ensuring New Zealand’s health system is able to function at a high quality level, in which patients can feel safe.

One of the programmes the Commission is implementing is the Safe Surgery New Zealand programme. Safe Surgery New Zealand is about improving teamwork and communication in the operating theatre. It involves using a ‘paperless’ surgical safety checklist and briefings on every patient before and after surgery.

It is a simple improvement, yet it has a significant effect on patient safety. The programme is being rolled out across the country over the next two years.

Hutt Valley DHB is part of the second stage of the rollout, with preparations beginning next month, and implementation from March 2016. I encourage Boulcott Hospital, and other private surgical hospitals, to participate in this programme with local DHBs.

Closing remarks

I would like to close my talk today by discussing how the business sector can contribute to the future direction of the New Zealand health system.

The Ministry of Health is currently working on a Health Strategy that will set a new vision and road map for the next three to five years for the health sector.

The Health Strategy will include some of the challenges and solutions that I’ve just mentioned, and will lay a foundation for a safer and financially sustainable health sector. A draft Health Strategy will be released to the public for feedback later this year.

I encourage Boulcott Hospital, the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and businesses to take part in the consultation on the Strategy. I am proud of our health system and I am excited about the direction of health care in our country.

You can be confident that the Government will continue to make health a top priority so that New Zealanders are supported to be well now and in the future.

ENDS

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