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Minister of Health Tony Ryall has released a National Cardiac Surgery Update detailing recent improvements in cardiac surgery in New Zealand.

“The update shows the improvements in access to cardiac surgery being made by the Cardiac Surgery Clinical Network which was established in 2009,” the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall said.

Health Minister Tony Ryall and Associate Minister for Health Tariana Turia says that Budget 2011 sees the Government put an extra $130 million into disability support services over four years.

Mr Ryall says, "An extra $8.5 million a year extra is going into residential support services with some of that to help deal with increasing numbers of people being supported in these facilities.

"Home and community services, for activities like showering, getting dressed, preparing a meal, and house work, is to receive another $6.6 million a year.

The Government wants to ensure every New Zealand child has the chance to be protected against preventable diseases, Health Minister Tony Ryall announced today.

Immunisation is one of the Government’s six Health Targets. Currently an all-time record 90 percent of New Zealand two-year-olds have had all the recommended immunisations. The Health Target is 95 percent by July 2012.

Health Minister Tony Ryall welcomes an initiative which is bringing the health and education sectors together to jointly address South Auckland’s health workforce needs.

Counties Manukau DHB has partnered with local tertiary education providers to establish a ‘Centre for Health System Improvement and Innovation’ – named Ko Awatea. 

The centre officially opened today in the grounds of Middlemore Hospital, where National MP Dr Paul Hutchison spoke on behalf of Health Minister Tony Ryall.

The Government has announced the combined pharmaceutical budget for 2011/12 will be $777.4 million – up from $710 million this year.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says part of this increase is made up of $20 million of new money the National Government has added to medicine spending.

"An estimated average 180 thousand extra patients have benefited every year from the Government's $180 million funding boost for medicines, since we took office."

A new set of guidelines to help residential aged care providers manage medicines as safely as possible, has been launched by National MP Jo Goodhew in Timaru today.

Mrs Goodhew is a former nurse, and launched the Ministry of Health guidelines at a meeting of GreyPower in Timaru today.

Releasing the Medicines Care Guides for Residential Aged Care on behalf of Health Minister Tony Ryall, Mrs Goodhew says, "They will provide a valuable and timely tool for residential care providers.

Health Minister Tony Ryall today opened a state of the art, $9.2 million Dialysis Centre at North Shore Hospital – enabling Waitemata renal patients to receive their care closer to home.

"Auckland DHB is also moving to establish dialysis services for patients closer to home.  It is on track to establish three community based dialysis centres, most likely near primary care clinics, with the first one planned for east Auckland next year," said Mr Ryall.

At Waitemata DHB, until recently, patients had to travel into central Auckland for treatment.

The Government is delivering $12 million over four years to trial health innovations and new technologies that improve patient care.

The new innovation fund will be managed by a revamped National Health Committee (NHC) which will advise the Minister of Health on new diagnostic and treatment innovations that are cost effective and proven, and should be publicly funded.

The fund will support the trial, test or assessment of new technologies.

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

• Community workers throat swabbing schoolchildren for rheumatic fever;
• a rural woman with lung and heart disease managing her symptoms from home with a tele-health monitor and;
• an integrated family health centre  that offers telephone consults and 'virtual' appointments for their patients' convenience.

These are some of the case studies featured in a new Ministry of Health booklet illustrating the strides being made in bringing better, sooner, more convenient health care to New Zealanders.

The countdown is on to get a million New Zealanders immunised against seasonal influenza with almost 950,000 doses of vaccine distributed so far.

"Last year more than a million doses of flu vaccine were distributed by the end of the flu season, and the signs are good that we will reach this milestone again by the end of July," says Health Minister Tony Ryall.

The Government has approved a $40 million cash injection for Capital and Coast District Health Board for the 2010/11 financial year.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says "This DHB continues to have the largest deficit of any DHB in the country.

"This is a one-off payment so the board can pay its day to day bills without always going into overdraft.

"The $40 million support is what was budgeted, and the DHB remains on track to break even in 2013/14."

The Government is proposing changes that will reduce the number of government agencies as it seeks better value for money, less duplication and improved co-ordination across the state sector, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and State Services Minister Tony Ryall announced today.

The proposals include disestablishing five crown entities and three tribunals, merging two government agencies, establishing shared corporate services across the government's three central agencies and consolidating the services of a number of others.

The Government has established a new group to advise on state sector reform, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and State Services Minister Tony Ryall announced today.

"As the Prime Minister said in his Statement to Parliament, the Government is committed to getting better value for money from public spending so we can deliver better public services to taxpayers with little or no new money over the next few years," Mr English says.

State Services Minister Tony Ryall has today announced that Learning State will be the new industry training organisation for local government.

From 1 April 2011, the Local Government Industry Training Organisation (LGITO) ceased operating and Learning State, the industry training organisation for the public sector, began providing industry training services to local government.

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.

Health Minister Tony Ryall has today opened Tauranga Hospital's Building 50 – the final stage of Bay of Plenty District Health Board's multi-million dollar building and refurbishment project.

The DHB has invested $157.3 million into the project with $25 million for Building 50.

"The Government is strongly committed to protecting and growing our public health services, despite the difficult economic times, says Mr Ryall.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says Hamilton Radiology's new Positron Emission and Computed Tomography (PET-CT) Centre in Hamilton will give patients from New Plymouth to Hamilton to Gisborne more convenient service, closer to home.

"Until now, patients had to travel to Wellington, and sometimes even Australia for these scans," says Mr Ryall.

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) combined with Computed Tomography (CT) scans are a valuable tool in diagnosing and monitoring the progression of cancer.

The Government has approved a $40 million-plus project at Waikato Hospital, that will create up to 100 construction jobs in Hamilton.

Health Minister Tony Ryall announced the approval during a visit to Waikato Hospital this afternoon.

Mr Ryall says, "The new building development will streamline and consolidate services for older people and those receiving rehabilitation support.

"This is about building for the future and providing much better service for older New Zealanders and their families.

The latest results of the Government's Health Targets show 99 per cent of patients ready for cancer radiation treatment are starting that treatment within the world gold standard of four weeks.

The target was six weeks until the start of this year, when it was shortened to four weeks.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says, "Four weeks is the gold standard worldwide for starting cancer radiation treatment. From January to March, 99 per cent of patients started their cancer radiation treatment within four weeks and 100 per cent started within six weeks.

Healthcare services will make huge gains thanks to the government’s ultra fast broadband (UFB) initiative. The UFB will make the transfer of information and services much simpler and faster, says Health Minister Tony Ryall.

The government has today awarded the final two contracts for the roll out of ultra fast broadband around New Zealand and the award last month of a contract for the roll out of broadband in rural areas.

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.

Budget 2011 is delivering an extra $2.2 billion to public health services over the next four years, including an additional $585 million in initiatives in 2011/12.

“Vote Health is the biggest recipient of Budget 2011,” Health Minister Tony Ryall says. “This demonstrates the Government's strong commitment to protecting and growing our public health services, despite the difficult economic times.