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Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the National Maternity Monitoring Group (NMMG) 2015 Annual Report shows the quality of maternity services in New Zealand is continuing to improve.

“It’s important that new mothers and babies receive high quality care across New Zealand,” says Dr Coleman.

“The NMMG Annual Report shows there’s a growing momentum within the maternity professions to further develop quality improvement initiatives.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman welcomes new guidance on providing the best possible care for people during the last days of their lives.

“It’s important that New Zealanders have access to quality, personalised and compassionate palliative care,” says Dr Coleman.

“Around 17,000 adults and their families accessed palliative care services this year, and this figure is expected to increase as our population grows.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the Fruit in Schools programme will be expanded to include an extra 77 schools, benefiting an additional 13,000 students.

"Healthy eating helps fuel the body and the brain, that’s why the Fruit in Schools programme is so beneficial to students," says Dr Coleman.

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman and ACC Minister Nikki Kaye welcome Water Safety New Zealand’s campaign launch of ‘Stop and think before you go near the water’, which is supported by ACC.

“On average 103 people die in New Zealand waters each year. Water Safety New Zealand’s campaign reminds people to reflect on whether it really is safe to enter the water,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says Dr Lester Levy has been appointed chair of the Health Research Council (HRC), replacing outgoing chair Sir Robert Stewart. 

“Congratulations to Dr Lester Levy on his appointment to the HRC board and also as HRC chair,” says Dr Coleman.

“Dr Levy has an extensive health management background and strong health sector governance experience. He is currently the Chair of Waitemata DHB and Auckland DHB, as well as Auckland Transport.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says a new resource will support midwives, nurses and doctors to inform parents about infant immunisation.

“New Zealand’s infant immunisation rate for eight month olds has increased significantly in recent years to almost 94 per cent. Support from midwives, nurses and doctors has been an important factor in this increase,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says a draft Action Plan to guide training and development of mental health workers is out for sector consultation. 

“New Zealand has a highly skilled and professional health workforce. Each year the Government invests around $20 million in mental health and addiction workforce development,” says Dr Coleman

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says an evaluation of this year’s national rheumatic fever awareness campaign shows positive results and a scorecard of excellence.

“The independent evaluation by Allen + Clarke Policy and Regulatory Specialists Ltd describes the rheumatic fever campaign as efficient, effective and relevant,” says Dr Coleman.

The Government is working to gain a full understanding of treatment injury to inform a range of initiatives to reduce treatment injury rates, say Minister of Health Jonathan Coleman and Minister for ACC Nikki Kaye.

“ACC’s treatment injury liability account is subject to a rising number of claims. It’s important from a clinical and financial point of view to understand why this is happening,” says Dr Coleman.

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman will tonight mark the success of New Zealand rugby at the 2015 NZ Rugby Union Awards.

“I’d like to congratulate all the nominees. It’s been a fantastic year for rugby with so many great team and individual performances,” says Dr Coleman.

“The All Blacks can not only be incredibly proud of their history making achievement in winning back-to-back Rugby World Cups, but also for the values they display on and off the field.

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman paid tribute last night to New Zealand’s top sports journalists and photographers at the annual Sir Terry McLean Sports Journalism Awards in Auckland.

“Sport is a key part of our identity as New Zealanders. Our sports media play an important role in bringing to life the great sporting stories,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the latest data shows the B4 School Check programme is well on track to reach more than 56,000 children across New Zealand by the end of the financial year.

“The first quarter figures show that 27 per cent of the target population, or more than 15,500 four-year-olds, received the free check in the three months ending September 2015,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says more than half the country's nurses graduating in November have found jobs before they know their final exam results through the system which matches graduates with employers. 

The national recruitment system (ACE) provides accurate information much sooner for both nurse graduates and employers.

“The latest data shows that 677 students (54 per cent) of the 1,245 nurses graduating in November who applied to the end-of-year ACE recruitment round are employed,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says a Bill to extend the term of the Southern DHB Commissioner passed its first reading today 95-26.

The New Zealand Public Health and Disability (Southern DHB) Elections Bill will extend the term of the Commissioner and her team to 2019.

“Achieving financial stability at Southern DHB is a long term process. Without legislative change the Commissioner and her team would have less than 18 months to improve the DHB’s position,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says an extra $4 million is being made available for DHB colonoscopy services.

“A colonoscopy can identify whether a person has cancer or pre-cancerous growths. Early identification and treatment can save lives,” says Dr Coleman.

“This extra $4 million in funding will support DHBs to undertake additional colonoscopies and help to reduce waiting times.

Sport and Recreation Minister Jonathan Coleman says Cambridge is all set for today’s start of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup at the Avantidrome.

“Around 300 top track cyclists from around the world including 20 New Zealand cyclists will be taking part in this weekend’s event,” says Dr Coleman.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for New Zealanders to head along and support our cycling team as they compete in the team pursuit, team sprint, individual sprint, keirin and omnium.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has today officially launched Healthy Families Lower Hutt at the recently opened Walter Nash Centre.

“Healthy Families NZ is about encouraging people to live healthier lives by making good food choices, being physically active, moderating alcohol consumption and being smoke-free,” says Dr Coleman.

“The initiative challenges communities to think differently about how to address the underlying causes of poor health at a local level.”

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the Southern DHB Commissioner team is starting to turn around the deficit challenge, and their term will be extended as more time is needed to implement the work plan.

A Commissioner was appointed in June following serious concerns over the Board’s financial performance. A spiralling deficit had been forecast and it was expected to increase up to $42 million for 2015/16.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says an evaluation of the cancer nurse coordinator initiative shows overwhelmingly positive feedback from patients and their families.

The independent evaluation by research consultancy Litmus comes two years into the $4 million a year initiative to fund cancer nurse coordinators across the 20 DHBs.

“Cancer nurse coordinators fill a very important role - acting as a single point of contact for patients and families,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has announced that Dr Margaret Wilsher has been appointed to the Southern Partnership Group.

The Southern Partnership Group was set up in September to oversee the redevelopment of Dunedin Hospital. Dr Wilsher joins Chair Andrew Blair, Andrew Connolly, Dr Tony Lanigan and Richard Thomson.

“Dr Wilsher brings significant clinical expertise to the Southern Partnership Group,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says public consultation on proposals for additional protection from the use of commercial sunbeds starts today.

“There is clear international evidence that UV tanning devices, including sunbeds, significantly increase the risk of skin cancers among users and that younger people are at higher risk,” says Dr Coleman.

“While there is an existing voluntary standard in place for the use of sunbeds, the evidence shows that it isn’t being adhered to.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has today launched Healthy Families Rotorua at Rotorua Primary School.

“Healthy Families NZ is about encouraging people to live healthier lives by making good food choices, being physically active, moderating alcohol consumption and being smoke-free,” says Dr Coleman.

“The initiative challenges communities to think differently about how to address the underlying causes of poor health at a local level.”

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has today officially opened the Rangiora Health Hub which provides high quality maternity services and flexi beds for patients with a range of needs in North Canterbury.

“There has been a significant increase in the number of births in recent years in North Canterbury. With over 150 births this year, it’s timely to have expanded and improved maternity facilities in the region,” says Dr Coleman.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the latest health target results show the more heart and diabetes checks target was met for the first time.

“Around 1.2 million people have had their cardiovascular disease risk assessed in the past five years,” says Dr Coleman.

“This target has been in place for three years, during that time results have nearly doubled from 46 per cent in 2011/12 to currently 90 per cent.