Search

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew says New Zealand is well placed to detect and respond to Ebola if it were to reach the country.

This follows the first confirmed case of Ebola in the United States. A male has fallen ill after travelling from Liberia, which is one of the West African nations affected by the current Ebola outbreak.

“The Ministry of Health assessment is that the risk to New Zealand from Ebola remains low,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed the end of the recent measles outbreak in New Zealand.

“Since December last year there have been 281 confirmed measles cases across the North Island, with 15 per cent of these cases requiring hospital treatment,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“So it is great news that the outbreak now appears to be over, with no new cases reported since 10 August 2014.

“Public Health Units in the affected regions have been working hard to halt the spread of this highly infectious virus.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew welcomes Cervical Screening Awareness Month this September encouraging women to get up to date with their cervical smears.

“The theme of this year’s campaign is for women to think about how their health matters not just to them, but also to those they love,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“We know that cervical cancer is one of the most preventable of all cancers, but it’s all about early detection.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is encouraging those eligible for a free flu vaccine to get in quick, with the programme due to wrap-up on 31 August.

The seasonal flu jab is free for people aged 65 years and over, pregnant women, people with long term health conditions such as severe asthma, and children under five years who have been hospitalised for a respiratory illness. In Canterbury, it is also free for those aged under 18.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is urging hospital patients to take part in a new survey asking them for feedback on their health care.  

“Invitations to take part in the first of a new series of surveys will be sent today to 7500 people across New Zealand who spent at least one night in hospital from 4 to17 August 2014,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“I encourage people to fill in the survey, which is an important way of improving the quality of hospital care and understanding how well health services are working for patients and their families.

The National-led Government is increasing the rest home bed subsidy by $10 million a year – a 5 per cent increase – as part of the government's ongoing plan to meet the changing needs of our population.

Health Minister Tony Ryall today announced a $40 million funding boost over the next four years for aged residential care and dementia services. The extra funding was earmarked in Budget 2014.

Public health officers are being given additional powers to hold aeroplanes and ships at the border if there is a sufficient concern that a person on board is infected with the Ebola virus, says Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew.

“The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa is the worst outbreak of this disease on record, leading to the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has announced that publication of full rest home audit reports will continue.

“Late last year I asked the Ministry of Health to trial publishing full audit reports of rest homes online,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“This followed feedback from the public and stakeholder groups that they wanted more information about how a rest home was performing.

“During the trial period over 200 people a week visited the full audit reports site, with around 80 of those downloading a copy of a full audit report.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is welcoming a new survey system which will ask hospital patients for their feedback.

“Every three months, 7500 patients will be sent a survey asking about their stay in hospital. The survey will cover everything from whether they were involved in decision-making about their treatment to whether they understood the advice they were given by their doctor,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed the news that over 1.2 million doses of flu vaccines have now been distributed to New Zealanders.

“Immunisation is the best protection we have against influenza. Maintaining a high vaccination rate is an important way we can protect ourselves and our families from this common, but serious winter illness,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“When we protect ourselves, we also protect the people around us who may be too young or too unwell to be immunised themselves.”

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has today welcomed the introduction of the Health (Protection) Amendment Bill to Parliament, which will amend the Health Act to make sunbeds R18 and improve the management of serious infectious diseases.

“This Amendment Bill brings together two separate, but equally important, sets of changes which will protect the health and safety of New Zealanders,” says Mrs Goodhew.

If passed, the Bill will stop the harm caused to people under 18 years of age by artificial (UV) tanning machines.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has today announced approval of $9.3 million in subsidies to help small communities establish or improve their drinking-water supplies.

“The subsidies have been approved under the 2013/14 Drinking-Water Subsidy Scheme (DWSS) funding round for projects in 22 small communities across the country,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“These subsidies will help council and community water suppliers provide safer drinking-water for over 17,000 people.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed a bill which will make possession of a high-power laser pointer in public, without a reasonable excuse, an offence.

The Summary Offences (Possession of High-power Laser Pointers) Amendment Bill yesterday passed its final reading in the House.

“High-power laser pointers can cause eye injuries – even blindness – and skin burns. ACC accepts around 10 claims a year for these injuries,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has announced that the seasonal influenza immunisation programme will be extended to the end of August.

“The vaccine was due to be funded until 31 July, but our surveillance shows that winter flu cases are rising and have not yet peaked,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“As the peak is still to come hospitals are likely to see more people with the illness, so it is worthwhile to extend the funded vaccination season.”

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew says despite a drop in the number of whooping cough cases being reported, it is still a threat to babies.

“Whooping cough is a serious infectious disease that affects all age groups and is most often severe in very young children,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“Whooping cough often occurs in epidemic cycles lasting two to five years. The current epidemic in New Zealand began in August 2011.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is reminding people eligible for a free flu vaccine to get in before the annual immunisation programme ends on 31 July.

“The number of flu cases reported by GPs and in hospitals has already starting to climb and we’re expecting this to continue,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“Influenza puts hundreds of New Zealanders in hospital every year, and keeps many more off work and school. For example, pregnant women are 18 times more likely to be hospitalised with the flu than women who are not pregnant.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has today welcomed new data showing DHBs are making good progress with taking steps to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs).

“SSIs are uncommon but can cause emotional and financial stress, serious illness, longer hospital stays, long-term disabilities and even death,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew says a spate of new measles cases dotted around the North Island highlights the need for people to check if they have been immunised.

Over the last week new measles cases have been confirmed in Hawkes Bay, Taranaki and the Bay of Plenty.

“Measles is a serious and highly-infectious disease, and this flurry of new cases shows just how easily it can spread,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew says work is underway to ensure the most up-to-date practices are being used in our screening programmes.

“New Zealand has first class screening programmes and to ensure they stay that way it’s important that we’re proactively looking for new advances in screening technology and practices,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“For that reason the Ministry of Health’s National Screening Unit (NSU) is exploring options that might enhance our antenatal, newborn and cervical screening.”

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is welcoming the introduction of free rotavirus vaccination from today.

“The vaccine, which is given orally rather than an injection, will be part of babies’ standard immunisations at ages six weeks, three months and five months,” says Mrs Goodhew. 

“Usually with childhood vaccines, if you’re late you can catch up. But for rotavirus, babies must have the first of three doses before they are 15 weeks old. If they’re too late, then babies will miss out,” says Mrs Goodhew. 

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew today announced additional investment of $18 million to further improve the care of rest home residents throughout the country.

The funding will support the rollout of regular comprehensive clinical assessments of each of the 32,000 older New Zealanders living in rest homes.

“The Government is making available up to an extra $18 million over four years to provide ongoing support and training for nurses and rest homes from July 2015, as agreed during recent aged care contract negotiations,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is encouraging anyone who has not yet been immunised against influenza to do so before the winter season peaks in late July to early August.

“The vaccine takes up to two weeks to take effect, so now is the time to take action to avoid catching and spreading influenza,” says Mrs Goodhew.

“Every year in New Zealand people are hospitalised with influenza. It can cause serious complications and death, even in previously healthy people.”

New data shows that more than 160 people who have taken part in the Waitemata bowel screening programme have been found to have cancer.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew says the data for the first two years helps build a picture of how New Zealand could run a national bowel screening programme, and what would need to be in place to do that safely and to a high standard.

“Provisional results for the first two years of the programme show that most of the cancers were found at an early stage, when they can often be cured,” says Mrs Goodhew.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is urging families to make sure they're immunised against measles before heading away for the school holidays.

Since December 2013 there have been more than 200 cases of measles in New Zealand.  The majority of recent cases have been in children and teenagers aged 10 to 19 years in the Waikato region.

“Measles is highly preventable with immunisation, so it would be a great shame for children or their caregivers to end up catching it during the holidays,” says Mrs Goodhew.