Search

I am very pleased to open the third linear accelerator at Canterbury DHB in just 18 months.

I know this machine will add considerably to Canterbury's ability to provide a high quality, timely service to people with cancer for the Canterbury region and beyond.

Access to advanced cancer treatments continues to improve for Canterbury patients with the addition of a new Linear Accelerator at Christchurch Hospital that is set to lift treatment capacity by 33 percent.

Thank you for inviting me to celebrate the new Varian TrueBeam radiotherapy linear accelerator machine.

I am told that this particular multi-million dollar machine is the first Varian TrueBeam radiotherapy linear accelerator in Australasia and the first of its kind to treat patients in the Southern Hemisphere.

This is one of ten new cancer radiation machines approved under this John Key government. And it's part of our comprehensive plan for better treatment for cancer patients which we put into action in late 2008.

Good afternoon.

It's great to be here.

And it’s a pleasure to officially open Lower Queen Street Health.

This is a significant event – not just because this is a new and innovative medical centre for Richmond - but also because Lower Queen Street Health represents a future of primary health care for New Zealanders.

When I am working in my electorate, or around the country holding public meetings or talking to people in the street, I hear stories that show where the public health service can improve further.

Speech notes prepared for 2011 AUT University Faculty of Health and Environmental Science’s Dean’s Public Lecture Series

Professor Abbott, Vice-Chancellor McCormack, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for the invitation to be part of AUT University’s 2011 Faculty of Health and Environmental Science’s Dean’s Public Lecture Series.

Good afternoon.  It is a pleasure to be here to address the New Zealand Aged Care Association conference and I would like to thank the Association for its invitation to speak to you.

Today I would like to thank you for all you’ve done following the Canterbury earthquakes, clinical integration and the launch of comprehensive clinical assessments for all residents.

Christchurch

Parliamentary Colleagues
Dr Virginia Hope – Chair of Hutt Valley DHB
Keriata Stuart, Chair of the Maori Partnership Board
Graham Dyer, CEO
Peter Glensor, former Chair, current Board member
Staff and ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for inviting me here to celebrate this important development for the people of the Hutt Valley.

What we are celebrating this morning is:

Good afternoon and welcome to launch of a New Approach for Supporting People with Disabilities through Local Area Coordination.

This is a very significant step in improving services for people with disabilities, and fulfils an election commitment made by the National Party in 2008. 

This new approach is about supporting people to take control of their lives with the freedom to choose how they live. It’s about giving people more say about how they spend the resources the taxpayers make available to assist them and their families.

Good afternoon.  Thank you for inviting me to open the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Royal College of Surgeons here in Queenstown.

First up, thank you for the great work you and your teams have done to produce yet another year of record elective surgery in 2010/11. This has meant more people getting vitally needed surgery faster. More patients than ever before are being treated, sooner.

Good morning.

This is your fourth annual conference, and the fourth time I have come to speak at it, including the last three times as Minister of Health. 

It's good to be here.

I note that your theme this year is “Taking control of our world”. 

With the year we have had so far, and the kick off of the Rugby World Cup less than a month away, I can’t think of a more appropriate, but perhaps more challenging, theme to have.

Canterbury

Introduction

Good morning.  It is a pleasure to be here to open the New Zealand Home Health Association’s Annual Conference and I would like to thank the association for its invitation to speak to you.

First up, I’d like to thank the many health professionals, managers, coordinators and support workers in home care for their outstanding efforts and perseverance during and after the series of Canterbury earthquakes.

Thank you for inviting me back to officially open the first stage of the Rotorua Hospital redevelopment. 

Many of you were here with me in October 2009 when I had the privilege of being the first person to "turn the sod" on this project..

Today – it is again a pleasure to be back here celebrating another stage in the project.

All up, the price tag for the redevelopment is $83 million.

Good afternoon.

Thank you for the opportunity to open your symposium this afternoon. I expect there will be a lot of interest. Not the least of which follows a call by the symposium organisers for higher taxes, significantly more regulation and lifting the age of entitlement for National Superannuation!.

May I welcome your keynote speaker Sir Michael Marmot to New Zealand.

Good afternoon.

First up, I’d like to thank the many health professionals and students in the room for their outstanding leadership and efforts during and after the series of Canterbury earthquakes.

The way in which you all worked together so effectively to care for your fellow citizens is truly humbling. I know that the challenges remain and the uncertainty persists, but please know that you are admired and appreciated for what you are doing.

Thank you for the opportunity to join you at the opening of your new 24 bed hospital wing here in Waikanae.

Today Winara Rest Home and Hospital is about to add a significant part to the continuum of services older people may need.

I'd like to acknowledge Bupa Care Services who've made a significant capital investment particularly in this region - with the opening of this much anticipated hospital wing today.

Rotorua

The New Zealand Medical Association is the country’s largest medical organisation. Your members come from all disciplines within the medical profession, and include specialists, general practitioners, doctors-in-training and medical students.

So it’s a real pleasure for me to be here today, the fifth time I’ve joined you at this conference.

Today I am going to cover:

• Our recent budget and the international context

Hello and welcome to Tauranga Hospital's Ward 3A.

Thank you for inviting me along to celebrate this special moment with you – you've worked through all the modules in the 'Releasing Time to Care – Productive Ward programme.

We won't say completed – because this is quality improvement and the quest for better care is never ending.

Last time I visited this ward you had just begun 'tidying up' as part of Releasing Time to Care -The Productive Ward.

Good afternoon.

It's a pleasure to be here to help you mark the final stage of Tauranga Hospital's multi-million dollar campus building and refurbishment programme.

Your hospital redevelopment will make significant improvements to the delivery of care to patients.

"Building 50" houses an extended and upgraded Medical Day Stay Unit on the ground floor - and the new ICU and Coronary Care Units on the first floor have now doubled in size.

The price tag is $25 million.

Thank you for inviting me to help you celebrate the official launch of the Kawerau Rheumatic Fever Prevention Programme.

It is always a pleasure to be a part of an event on my own home ground.

I'm pleased to be able to officially acknowledge the good work the Kawerau community has put in already to protect its children from the impact of rheumatic fever.

Rheumatic fever is a serious and largely preventable third world disease that is highly prevalent in some of our communities.

Good morning.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about the topic you’ve given for me: "How can we move beyond the perception that older people are a burden on the health system?".

In this speech I will describe the challenge of health policy not being the over 65s but the over 80s, and then touch on the significant challenge that dementia, will present the public health service.

Good afternoon and welcome to the official Midlands Health Network Integrated Family Health Centres launch in Hamilton.

It’s great to be here this afternoon to celebrate this development with you.

My association with your predecessor organisation Pinnacle Health goes back some 12 or so years when I spoke at the launch of Pinnacle in the Western Bay of Plenty.

And like then, you have put yourselves at the forefront of the transformational changes happening in primary care here in New Zealand.

And today we are launching that change.

Today we mark a very significant step forward in health services.

For the first time, suitably qualified nurses - other than Nurse Practitioners – will be able to prescribe medication for their patients. Four demonstration sites start this month: Hawke’s Bay, Mid Central, Hutt Valley and here at Auckland DHB.

Innovation in health not only provides us with opportunities to do things differently, it also offers opportunities for those working in health to make more use of their experience and professional skills.

A new Ministry of Health publication is showcasing some of the innovative ways that District Health Boards (DHBs) are providing more surgery for patients.

Health Minister Tony Ryall launched to the booklet during a visit to Whanganui DHB today. Whanganui sits on top of the most recent health targets table for providing more elective surgery to patients.

Thank you for inviting me to launch Kiwi-health-jobs-dot-com.

Christchurch

Before we talk about the kiwi health jobs website, I would like to reiterate my appreciation and thanks to everyone in the health service – both public and private – who’s pitched in and supported Christchurch colleagues since last month’s earthquake.

The challenge in Canterbury is ongoing. Our health professionals there will need a break from time to time. So, the many hundreds of offers to help in Christchurch will still be needed.

Good afternoon and thank you for the invitation to speak today.

I warmly welcome new links between the NZ accountants’ professional body and it’s counterparts in Australia and the UK.

There was once a business owner who was interviewing people for a division manager position. He decided to select the individual who could answer the question “how much is 2+2?”

The engineer pulled out his slide rule and shuffled it back and forth and finally announced, “It lies between 3.98 and 4.02”.