More Heart Cases in South to Get Funding

Health Minister Bill English said today he had accepted that there were people in the south waiting too long for heart surgery and that up to $1.5 million would be made available to pay for more surgery.

"There are people with a real need for potentially life-saving surgery who are waiting too long and something must be done to help them.

"It is clear that people in other parts of New Zealand are being treated at a much lower level of need than people in the south. This is a significant and unacceptable anomaly.

"The details of the number of operations which can be funded will be negotiated by the Health Funding Authority, which will obviously be looking for the maximum possible. My advice is that this money will cover the most serious cases."

Mr English said he acknowledged the extra funding would not be enough to clear all the people waiting for heart surgery in the south.

"This is a stop-gap measure to even out an anomaly. It highlights just how critical it is to get the booking system in place so that everyone in New Zealand is treated fairly no matter where they live.

"The booking system will also give people certainty about when they can expect their treatment. Waiting for surgery causes huge anxiety for people in some situations and they deserve as much certainty as possible," said Mr English.