Hospital Planning Round Completed

Health Minister Bill English said today he had supported business plans for most of the country's public hospitals for the year and these showed that hospitals were now on a much sounder footing than they had been for a number of years.

"I have supported the business plans for 19 out of the 23 public hospitals. One plan has been supported provisionally and three hospitals are still working on their plans.

"This planning round has been finished earlier than in previous years thanks to contracts being agreed and signed much more speedily than in the past. This is excellent news for our hospitals because it means they can get on with the job of providing health services instead of being engaged in endless discussions about contracts.

"The other good news out of this contracting round is that a significant number of hospitals are expecting to make surpluses, either this year or by the end of the three year planning period.

"Achieving these surpluses, which will be ploughed back into health services, means that local communities can have confidence that their health services are stable and secure into the future. Hospitals will be in a strong position to continue investing in new services and ensure certainty about public hospital services over the long term.

"The hospitals which are still working on their business plans are Wairarapa Health, Capital Coast Health, and Coast Healthcare. I have provisionally supported the plan for Wanganui Hospital," said Mr English.

For further information contact:
Liz Rowe, Press Secretary, 04-471 9154 (wk)