Good Progress on Stent Report Recommendations

Health Minister Bill English said he had been advised close to 80 percent of the recommendations made in Health and Disability Commissioner Robyn Stent's report on Canterbury Health had been addressed. The rest were currently being worked on.

"I have asked the Ministry of Health to monitor the implementation of the recommendations made in the Commissioner's report. I will be providing a full status report to the Commissioner by 31 July, but the Ministry advises good progress has been made to date.

"The Ministry advises close to 80 percent of the recommendations have already been addressed and that all the agencies which were the subject of recommendations are making pleasing progress in dealing with the remaining issues raised," he said.

The Commissioner's report, released in April, made 112 recommendations. Most (76) related to Canterbury Health and the vast majority of those had been actioned. Canterbury Health had also made changes in response to earlier recommendations from the Ministry, Mr English said.

Other recommendations in the Commissioner's report related to the Health Funding Authority, the Crown Company Monitoring and Advisory Unit, the Ministry of Health, the Christchurch Medical School and the Christchurch Hospitals' Medical Staff Association.

"All the agencies have set up appropriate ways of dealing with those recommendations relevant to them. I will be able to report in detail about specific recommendations by 31 July," Mr English said.