December 15, 2025 • 9 mins
A year into the job Health Minister Simeon Brown is celebrating early signs of success on reducing wait times.
He took over the heath portfolio in January of this year, succeeding Dr Shane Reti.
Brown told Kerre Woodham he attributes reinstated health targets as one aspect that's made a difference.
He says the number one focus remains improved access to health care.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the carry Wood and Mornings podcast from
News Talks het B.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
This hour, we continue our catch up with the Minister
to talk about their ones for the year, their focus
for twenty twenty six. This hour we're joined by Minister
for Health Simeon Brown, who took over the Health portfolio
in January of this year, succeeding doctor Shan Retti. In March,
he released his five key health priorities as Minister of Health,
(00:32):
focusing health in your New Zealand on delivering the basics
and achieving targets. Fixing primary healthcare to ensure kiwis have
timely access to a doctor, reducing emergency department wait times,
clearing the elective surgery backlog by partnering with the private
sector and investing in health infrastructure, both physical and digital.
(00:53):
I spoke to him earlier this morning. We're getting our
money's worth out of our politicians. Well most of them,
all parties bar one, are working right up to the
last mins. It so I had to speak to them
before we came to where and I asked them how
it was going. Good morning health, Where on earth do
(01:15):
you start with that beast?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Well, it's certainly a very challenging portfolio, but also very rewarding.
It's an opportunity to really make sure that New Zealanders
get the access to healthcare that they need. But as
a government, we inherited incredibly long waiting lists for healthcare,
and so the number one job that we've got in
place is to make sure that we are improving access
(01:40):
to healthcare. We're starting to see some early signs of
success and starting to see those waiting lists reduce, but
we know for too many people are still waiting too long,
and our focuses are really focusing on reducing those weight
lists with things such as elective surgery boost getting more
cataract operations, help operations in the operations, all those things
(02:00):
that people need done, getting it done faster.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I think I've been doing talk back now for nearly
thirty years, and during that time we have consistently talked
about problems of the health system, problems with waiting liss
over multiple governments of varying hues. Is there something structurally
unsound with the way public health is delivered?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Well, I think the focus needs to be firmly on patients,
and it needs to be firmly on delivery and that's
the focus I've been trying to bring as Minister of Health.
We've brought back the health targets, which I think firmly
put the patient back at the center. When we left
office in twenty seventeen, the number of people waiting more
than four months for an elective surgery was around a
(02:43):
thousand people across the country. That increased to over twenty
five thousand when we came back to government, and so
that gives a sense of the size and scale of
the problem. We're starting to see those numbers weightless numbers
starting to reduce again. But fundamentally, the system needs to
be focused on patients. It needs to be focused on
(03:04):
delivery and and that's exactly what we're trying to do.
There's huge amount of work being done by our front
line clinicians to get those weight lists down. We've got
our Elective Boost program underway, which is outsourcing many more
cases through to the private hospitals as well, and that's
a key part because ultimately patients don't care who's delivering
(03:24):
the service. When they're lying on the operating table looking
up at the roof or the ceiling, they don't care
who owns the ceiling. They just want their surgery done,
so we've got to be pragmatic about delivery and really
focused on the patient.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Of course, COVID played a big role in blowing out
those wait lists, which made it probably an unusually difficult
time for people to try and get elective surgery. I
remember doctor Retti, doctor Shane Retti, your predecessor, talking about
that continuum of care that you needed to have to
(03:58):
ensure that the entire public health system ran ran smoothly,
so that you had people seeing GPS in a reasonable
time so they didn't present at ads, you had somewhere
for people to go after they had been in hospital.
It really needed to be a smooth conveyor belt of
delivery of services. Are we getting any closer to that?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I think I think we are. I think the challenge
we we we're facing is, or one of the challenges
we're facing, is the last government's health reforms really have
unsettled a lot of the health system, and so actually
stabilizing the health system and actually getting it back focused
on delivery of services and what patients need has been
(04:42):
a big focus of what we're doing in government. But
absolutely and the biggest problem or the biggest challenges people
waiting too long to be seen, and I think that's
the challenge that my predecessor was certainly highlighting there. So
I guess funding increased for primary care in this year's
budget primary Care Tactical Action Plan, which is all focused
an increasing primary care workforce, more doctors, more nurses, more
(05:05):
news practitioners. The new WYK at a medical school is
critical to that obviously the longer term to actually grow
that pipeline and retain doctors in New Zealand. So that's
really about the primary care part of that equation. The
health target weight times is really important so people get
seen quicker and ed. We know that that is critically
important to saving lives and getting timely treatment through our hospitals,
(05:29):
and we're starting to see some real improvements through that
target and and what we're seeing in the hospitals is
people being seen quicker, which is fantastic. And then of
course it's when people do go to hospital, we need
to make sure that we are being able to get
them the care that they need once they leave as well,
and so a lot of focus on that as well.
(05:51):
So there is certainly a huge amount of work happening
across the health system. Those targets are critically important to
highlight weight times, waitlists and to actually make sure that
that focus is in the right place. And we are
starting to see improvements on all of those health targets.
And remember the last government removed the health targets. We've
brought them back. It is certainly bringing the system and
(06:14):
the focus of the system back where it needs to
be and we're starting to see the fruits of that labor,
which is fantastic.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
What are you most proud of over the year's work.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Well, I think one of the big ones has been
the elective surgery boost that's just seen you know, thousands
more new Zealanders get those hips, knees, cataract operations done
who otherwise wouldn't wouldn't have those weightists would have been
much much longer, so and the quality of.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Life deteriorates so much when you're in pain and you're
waiting when your lifetime induced.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
You'd have people calling you and talking about talking about this.
You know, regularly I get the emails from patients on
those weitlists and you know absolutely there are so there
are thousands of people who are going to be having
a summer without pain who otherwise wouldn't have this summer
and I think you know, when you read the stories
of people who have had that treatment and received it,
they're incredibly grateful. And so that's a big, big achievement
(07:07):
this year alongside many others.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And what are you focusing on next year, which of
course is election here and that can be really distracting
having an election in the middle of trying to get
the job done.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Well, I think number one is we have to just
stay really focused on delivery. That's the number one I
think you know, the number one priority for me is
making sure the system continues to deliver, making sure those
weight lists continue to reduce, making sure people get seen faster.
That's the number one priority that I have as Minister
of Health is just continuing to focus the system on delivery,
(07:44):
continuing to deliver those additional surgeries that are needed, the
active boosters continuing across this this coming year, but also
rolling out a number of initiatives in primary care which
I think is going to make a real difference for access.
We've got one hundred overseas trained doctors who are currently
in New Zealand but can't work as doctors because that
(08:06):
don't have the appropriate registration. We've funded places for them
to actually start working primary care. That's going to be
a big boost to our primary care workforce. We're going
to be funding one hundred and twenty nurses to nurse
practitioners next year. That's really exciting. We've just launched that.
We've just done the SOD turning on the new ycad
of Medical School that constructions underway. That's an incredibly exciting
(08:26):
move forward to have a third medical school now under
construction in New Zealand and keeping that project on tracks
is going to be really important. And on first of February,
doctors are going to be able to prescribe medicines for
up to twelve months for patients with long term health conditions.
And that's going to make a big difference in terms
of people with asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure not being
(08:48):
able to not having to go to their doctor every
three months to get a repeat prescription. It's going to
free up GP slots. It's also going to save money
for those patients as well. So a lot of new
actions coming into effect next year making sure the system
continues to deliver and continuing to see those weightless come
down and.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
How are you going to take a break? A you
going to relax?
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Well, I'm really looking forward to just spending some time
with my wife and four little children. We're going to
be heading to Sydney for a few days to catch
up with the in laws as well, So I'm really
looking forward to just getting a bit of time to
spend with my spend with my little kids who I
don't don't see as much as i'd like to sometimes.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
No, I can imagine that will you enjoy and you
savor every moment and I look forward to talking in
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Thank you so much, Carrie, thanks for your time. Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
That was Health Minister Simeon Brown.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
For more from Carrie Wood and Mornings, listen live to
news talks that'd be from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the carry Wood and Mornings podcast from
News Talks het B.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
This hour, we continue our catch up with the Minister
to talk about their ones for the year, their focus
for twenty twenty six. This hour we're joined by Minister
for Health Simeon Brown, who took over the Health portfolio
in January of this year, succeeding doctor Shan Retti. In March,
he released his five key health priorities as Minister of Health,
(00:32):
focusing health in your New Zealand on delivering the basics
and achieving targets. Fixing primary healthcare to ensure kiwis have
timely access to a doctor, reducing emergency department wait times,
clearing the elective surgery backlog by partnering with the private
sector and investing in health infrastructure, both physical and digital.
(00:53):
I spoke to him earlier this morning. We're getting our
money's worth out of our politicians. Well most of them,
all parties bar one, are working right up to the
last mins. It so I had to speak to them
before we came to where and I asked them how
it was going. Good morning health, Where on earth do
(01:15):
you start with that beast?
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Well, it's certainly a very challenging portfolio, but also very rewarding.
It's an opportunity to really make sure that New Zealanders
get the access to healthcare that they need. But as
a government, we inherited incredibly long waiting lists for healthcare,
and so the number one job that we've got in
place is to make sure that we are improving access
(01:40):
to healthcare. We're starting to see some early signs of
success and starting to see those waiting lists reduce, but
we know for too many people are still waiting too long,
and our focuses are really focusing on reducing those weight
lists with things such as elective surgery boost getting more
cataract operations, help operations in the operations, all those things
(02:00):
that people need done, getting it done faster.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
I think I've been doing talk back now for nearly
thirty years, and during that time we have consistently talked
about problems of the health system, problems with waiting liss
over multiple governments of varying hues. Is there something structurally
unsound with the way public health is delivered?
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Well, I think the focus needs to be firmly on patients,
and it needs to be firmly on delivery and that's
the focus I've been trying to bring as Minister of Health.
We've brought back the health targets, which I think firmly
put the patient back at the center. When we left
office in twenty seventeen, the number of people waiting more
than four months for an elective surgery was around a
(02:43):
thousand people across the country. That increased to over twenty
five thousand when we came back to government, and so
that gives a sense of the size and scale of
the problem. We're starting to see those numbers weightless numbers
starting to reduce again. But fundamentally, the system needs to
be focused on patients. It needs to be focused on
(03:04):
delivery and and that's exactly what we're trying to do.
There's huge amount of work being done by our front
line clinicians to get those weight lists down. We've got
our Elective Boost program underway, which is outsourcing many more
cases through to the private hospitals as well, and that's
a key part because ultimately patients don't care who's delivering
(03:24):
the service. When they're lying on the operating table looking
up at the roof or the ceiling, they don't care
who owns the ceiling. They just want their surgery done,
so we've got to be pragmatic about delivery and really
focused on the patient.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Of course, COVID played a big role in blowing out
those wait lists, which made it probably an unusually difficult
time for people to try and get elective surgery. I
remember doctor Retti, doctor Shane Retti, your predecessor, talking about
that continuum of care that you needed to have to
(03:58):
ensure that the entire public health system ran ran smoothly,
so that you had people seeing GPS in a reasonable
time so they didn't present at ads, you had somewhere
for people to go after they had been in hospital.
It really needed to be a smooth conveyor belt of
delivery of services. Are we getting any closer to that?
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I think I think we are. I think the challenge
we we we're facing is, or one of the challenges
we're facing, is the last government's health reforms really have
unsettled a lot of the health system, and so actually
stabilizing the health system and actually getting it back focused
on delivery of services and what patients need has been
(04:42):
a big focus of what we're doing in government. But
absolutely and the biggest problem or the biggest challenges people
waiting too long to be seen, and I think that's
the challenge that my predecessor was certainly highlighting there. So
I guess funding increased for primary care in this year's
budget primary Care Tactical Action Plan, which is all focused
an increasing primary care workforce, more doctors, more nurses, more
(05:05):
news practitioners. The new WYK at a medical school is
critical to that obviously the longer term to actually grow
that pipeline and retain doctors in New Zealand. So that's
really about the primary care part of that equation. The
health target weight times is really important so people get
seen quicker and ed. We know that that is critically
important to saving lives and getting timely treatment through our hospitals,
(05:29):
and we're starting to see some real improvements through that
target and and what we're seeing in the hospitals is
people being seen quicker, which is fantastic. And then of
course it's when people do go to hospital, we need
to make sure that we are being able to get
them the care that they need once they leave as well,
and so a lot of focus on that as well.
(05:51):
So there is certainly a huge amount of work happening
across the health system. Those targets are critically important to
highlight weight times, waitlists and to actually make sure that
that focus is in the right place. And we are
starting to see improvements on all of those health targets.
And remember the last government removed the health targets. We've
brought them back. It is certainly bringing the system and
(06:14):
the focus of the system back where it needs to
be and we're starting to see the fruits of that labor,
which is fantastic.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
What are you most proud of over the year's work.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Well, I think one of the big ones has been
the elective surgery boost that's just seen you know, thousands
more new Zealanders get those hips, knees, cataract operations done
who otherwise wouldn't wouldn't have those weightists would have been
much much longer, so and the quality of.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
Life deteriorates so much when you're in pain and you're
waiting when your lifetime induced.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
You'd have people calling you and talking about talking about this.
You know, regularly I get the emails from patients on
those weitlists and you know absolutely there are so there
are thousands of people who are going to be having
a summer without pain who otherwise wouldn't have this summer
and I think you know, when you read the stories
of people who have had that treatment and received it,
they're incredibly grateful. And so that's a big, big achievement
(07:07):
this year alongside many others.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
And what are you focusing on next year, which of
course is election here and that can be really distracting
having an election in the middle of trying to get
the job done.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Well, I think number one is we have to just
stay really focused on delivery. That's the number one I
think you know, the number one priority for me is
making sure the system continues to deliver, making sure those
weight lists continue to reduce, making sure people get seen faster.
That's the number one priority that I have as Minister
of Health is just continuing to focus the system on delivery,
(07:44):
continuing to deliver those additional surgeries that are needed, the
active boosters continuing across this this coming year, but also
rolling out a number of initiatives in primary care which
I think is going to make a real difference for access.
We've got one hundred overseas trained doctors who are currently
in New Zealand but can't work as doctors because that
(08:06):
don't have the appropriate registration. We've funded places for them
to actually start working primary care. That's going to be
a big boost to our primary care workforce. We're going
to be funding one hundred and twenty nurses to nurse
practitioners next year. That's really exciting. We've just launched that.
We've just done the SOD turning on the new ycad
of Medical School that constructions underway. That's an incredibly exciting
(08:26):
move forward to have a third medical school now under
construction in New Zealand and keeping that project on tracks
is going to be really important. And on first of February,
doctors are going to be able to prescribe medicines for
up to twelve months for patients with long term health conditions.
And that's going to make a big difference in terms
of people with asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure not being
(08:48):
able to not having to go to their doctor every
three months to get a repeat prescription. It's going to
free up GP slots. It's also going to save money
for those patients as well. So a lot of new
actions coming into effect next year making sure the system
continues to deliver and continuing to see those weightless come
down and.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
How are you going to take a break? A you
going to relax?
Speaker 3 (09:07):
Well, I'm really looking forward to just spending some time
with my wife and four little children. We're going to
be heading to Sydney for a few days to catch
up with the in laws as well, So I'm really
looking forward to just getting a bit of time to
spend with my spend with my little kids who I
don't don't see as much as i'd like to sometimes.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
No, I can imagine that will you enjoy and you
savor every moment and I look forward to talking in
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
Thank you so much, Carrie, thanks for your time. Merry Christmas.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
That was Health Minister Simeon Brown.
Speaker 1 (09:41):
For more from Carrie Wood and Mornings, listen live to
news talks that'd be from nine am weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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