Shane Reti: Health Minister on the funding for healthcare and the plans for delivering on targets

The Health Minister says while they'd always like to spend more on health, the spending level is enough to deliver a high quality service.  

Dr Shane Reti has laid out his plans for delivering on health targets set in March. 

It includes more community infusion centres, more beds and operating theatres in public hospitals and greater use of private hospitals.  

Reti told Mike Hosking it also includes discharging patients seven days a week. 

He used the example of someone with an abscess who needs an intravenous push of antibiotics on a Saturday, if they're not in a facility that can discharge on a Saturday, they may wait until Monday.  

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So the Health Minister filled in the blanks yesterday as
to how he's going to deliver the targets he set
out for the system back in March. More workers Bad's
theaters are on the way. Community and fusion centers are
also planned, allowing chemotherapy to take place closer to home.
Shane Retty is with this A very good morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Now, good mind, Mike good A couple of.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Things in the news this morning. The GP Owners' Association
are going to the ComCom They're arguing Health New Zealand
dictates contracts. Do they have a case do you reckon
or not? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (00:29):
I met with them yesterday and we chatted about this. Look,
the Commerce Commission will determine that that this has been
standard policy for a number of years. Is nothing new
to happen. Negotiating around this year has happened, So we'll
see what the Commerce Commission that makes up it. Well.
I won't sort of interfere in that process, but we
had a good discussion around that yesterday.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Is there any way around it? I mean that the
public health it's where there is no competition, you hand
out the money. The money is the money, Isn't.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
It that there is competition the marketplace. People choose who
they want to hear as a general practitioner, and there
are other alternative models to general practice. So there is
a market for primary care. But the issue here is
whether the contracting has effectively been a good faith or
they're fundamentally told this is what it is, and so

(01:14):
that's what they're taking to Commerce Commission.

Speaker 1 (01:16):
Okay. Another thing that concerned me this week was the
Indian High Commission in Wellington who was warning nurses about
coming to New Zealand and they shouldn't unless they've got
a genuine job offer, and this debtails into more staff.
How is it there issuing warnings when we need nurses
but we're not hiring nurses and we're inundated with people
from overseas who can't get a job.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Look, that's partly true, and I did see this well.
But let's also remember we've got New Zealand graduates who
are still looking to find places. And I would make
the case that we do need to find a place
for our domestic pipeline. And so what we're seeing in
discussions we're having and I've been having with Nursing Council
is that the number of internationally qualified nurse application to
fallen away significantly, and so the High Commissioner has indicated

(01:58):
to them, Look, you need to know you need to
have a job off that a surety before you go
through the process and you leave home and come and
do the oski and all the things you need to
do and make sure you do have a job offer.
But I would say I am committed to making sure
our graduates are able to find a place I hope
at the high priority.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
One of the things you said yesterday which surprised me,
is you're going to have discharge seven days a week.
Is health not seven days a week.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yeah, it's a surprise, isn't that. That's correct that there
are some places where they don't do seven days discharge.
So imagine this. Let's say you've got an ebscess. For example,
you're getting an intravenous push of antibiotics and you need
one more on the set on Saturday. If you're not
in a dischargeable facility that can discharge on the Saturday Saturday,
you may wait for the ward round on Monday to

(02:41):
be discharged. Makes no sense time, No, it does not.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Takata tash Camp, who I watched in the Parliament yesterday
with the stories of whiteboards and privacy and hallways. How
real is that?

Speaker 2 (02:54):
Sorry? Did you say wait?

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Now, you were there, she was asking you questions in
the house. She's in the corridors. She's been covered by
white boards for privacy. Is that real or not?

Speaker 2 (03:06):
I haven't seen the covering by whiteboards, but I have
seen people in corridors that is correct. And emergency department
particularly some of those that don't have obviously don't have
enough beds or there is bed block up on the wards.
So yes, as I said to her in the house,
actually I have seen that as well.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
And does that get fixed?

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Yes? Absolutely, several things like for example the seven day discharge.
If you can discharge a person from a wardbed, then
you can move someone from ed up into that wardbed.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Okay, just for clarification, when the Prime Minister says thirty
billion ish in what we spend on health, is enough?

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Is it? Oh? So this is what the Commissioner has
said as well. Having the prime leaders to actually figure
out what we spend and where we spend it. Look,
it will never be enough. No country has enough in health.
That's the nature of things. But for the objectives that
we have and the task that we have in the
fiscook straints that we have. As you've heard the Commissioner say,

(04:03):
there was enough for us to deliver a high quality service.
We would always want to do more. Everyone wants to
do more, but deliver a high quality service. The funding
is the highest funding we've had ever in health.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Actually, I wish you a good weekend. Appreciate your time
as always, Shane reading Who's the Health Ministry? For more
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