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Health Minister Tony Ryall will today open the new $80 million clinical building at Taranaki Hospital which will help meet the current and future health needs of the region.

“Taranaki now boasts a modern, user-friendly, four-storey facility which will improve the experience for both patients and staff.

“The new development will ensure the 109,000 people living in Taranaki continue to receive better, faster, and more convenient care in the future” says Mr Ryall.

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.

Health Minister Tony Ryall today visited Middlemore Hospital and heard about how their regional spinal service is improving outcomes for patients with spinal cord impairment.

The 20-bed Middlemore regional spinal cord impairment service cares for around 70-90 patients for the top third of the country each year.

The country’s first national radiation oncology plan has been released today to ensure the cancer workforce and technology keeps up with the country's growing and ageing population.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says the Ministry of Health expects the total number of people with cancer to increase by almost a third in the next decade.

“We want to ensure New Zealanders continue to receive high quality oncology services in the future and that those who need radiation therapy, will get it in a timely way,” says Mr Ryall.

Ki a koutou Ngāti Toa, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Kauwhata, Rangitāne, ngā iwi o te motu katoa.

Tēnā koutou, ā,  tēnā tātou katoa.

I am so happy to welcome you here to your House, in the spirit of Puanga / Matariki.

There could be no better time to be launching He Korowai Oranga than at the Māori New Year.  

Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia has launched an updated version of He Korowai Oranga - New Zealand’s Māori Health Strategy this morning in Parliament. The strategy builds on the success of the Whānau Ora approach and introduces the concept of Pae Ora.

Health Minister Tony Ryall has welcomed the success of an information technology system that helps health care providers find the right patient quickly and easily.

“In May 2013, the new National Health Index (NHI) system went live on a modern technology platform, replacing a 20-year-old system,” says Mr Ryall.

“Since the new system was introduced duplicate NHI numbers have been dropping. For the first time they have fallen below 1 per cent.

Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia has announced that applications for funding under the 2014 - 2016 Māori Provider Development Scheme (MPDS) are now open.

“This is an important scheme that works to increase the capacity and capability of Māori providers to deliver effective health and disability services for Māori. It also supports activities to develop a highly-skilled Māori health workforce,” says Minister Turia.

Health Minister Tony Ryall has announced the appointment of Mr David Carden, as the new chair of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.

“A barrister by training, Mr Carden has over four decades of experience in arbitration and mediation” says Mr Ryall.

“He has already provided excellent service in his role as deputy chair of the Tribunal and I am pleased to have Mr Carden continue that work in his new capacity”.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has welcomed updated advice about healthy weight gain during pregnancy.

“Guidance for Healthy Weight Gain in Pregnancy” has been developed for health practitioners caring for pregnant women.

“Healthy eating and activity during pregnancy supports optimal fetal growth and development,” says Mrs Goodhew.

A programme which sets parents up with simple and practical strategies to cope with challenging behaviour is being extended until June 2016.

The Triple P Positive Parenting Programme is being trialled by MidCentral, Bay of Plenty, Counties-Manukau and Waitemata District Health Boards and has already reached nearly two thousand parents or caregivers.

Safekids Aotearoa has unveiled a new online tool to help health professionals treat children who have swallowed button batteries.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says the tool, which has been developed in partnership with the Ministry of Health, provides doctors and nurses with immediate diagnosis and treatment information.

“If a child swallows a battery it’s important they receive prompt care. Button batteries can get stuck in the throat, nose or ear canal which can have very serious consequences,” says Mr Ryall.

A group of more than 400 Cancer Society volunteers from across the South Island have been named the overall winners of the 2014 Minister of Health Volunteer Awards.

As part of National Volunteer Week, Health Minister Tony Ryall will present their award, along with awards for outstanding achievers from the Lower North Island, at a celebration at Wellington Hospital this afternoon.

“These awards celebrate the volunteers whose commitment, dedication and hard work improve the quality of lives of New Zealanders,” says Mr Ryall.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew is again urging people to check whether they and their children are fully immunised against measles.

In recent weeks, 56 cases have been reported in Waikato, of which a significant number are associated with Fraser High School.

Between December 2013 and 13 June 2014, there have been 190 measles cases reported in New Zealand. Approximately one in five of these people have needed hospital treatment.

Good morning. Thank you for inviting me to celebrate the opening of this new development with you.

I would like to acknowledge:

• Minister Anne Tolley
• Sally Webb and Bay of Plenty DHB board members
• Council members
• Members of the Runanga
• Ron Dunham the CEO of Lakes DHB.

I would also like to acknowledge staff, patients and neighbours.

You were subjected to dust, ever changing places to park cars, changing entrances and having to walk right around the campus - thank you for your patience.

Health Minister Tony Ryall today officially opened the $67 million Whakatane Hospital redevelopment which future-proofs health services in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

“This is truly one of the best days in my time as Minister of Health and MP for the Bay of Plenty. It is fantastic to see our government's 2008 election commitment fulfilled on-time and on-budget” says Mr Ryall.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew has acknowledged the high volume of traffic to the new ‘rural’ section on the National Depression Initiative (NDI) website.

Farmers’ stories about overcoming depression were added to the NDI website in April to encourage rural people to recognise and seek help for depression.

“There’s clearly an appetite for this information. Since the videos and written stories were added nearly 12,200 people have visited the website,” says Mrs Goodhew.

As an American entrepreneur wrote recently... "The opportunities at the intersection of health and technology will enable humanity to create health and wealth on a global scale ... seizing huge business opportunities while generating tremendous positive social impact for everyone, everywhere".

That is the amazing opportunity before you and your ideas and your businesses.  And that’s why this healthcare congress is so valuable.

Many people underestimate the importance of the health sector here in New Zealand. It amounts to one-tenth of the economy.

Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce and Health Minister Tony Ryall today announced a total of $78 million in health research funding as part of the 2014 Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand’s funding round.

The funding will cover 50 new Projects ($56 million), 4 new Programmes ($20 million), and 14 Emerging Researcher First Grants ($2.02 million), and has increased significantly from last year due to the release of funds from maturing contracts.

A report released online this week by the Ministry of Health indicates that building health literacy is necessary for better understanding, prevention and management of gout.

“The report highlights a lack of information about gout that is resulting in a range of persistent inaccurate beliefs about the condition – clearly we should educate before we medicate,” says Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia.

The fight against rheumatic fever shifts up a gear this weekend with TV adverts starting which show the impact rheumatic fever can have on the lives of children and their families.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says the adverts are based on the real life experiences of a Tongan family with 11-year-old twins.

“One of the twins, Justin, avoided rheumatic fever when his strep throat was detected by swabbing and he completed a course of antibiotics. However his brother, Tristan, has had open heart surgery as a result of getting rheumatic fever,” says Mr Ryall.

Associate Health Minister Jo Goodhew says new controls introduced 1 March 2014 restricting the sale of high powered laser pointers are settling in.

“In the last three months, health officers have monitored online auction sites and visited over 80 retailers nationwide to remind them of the ban and to remove high powered lasers from shop shelves,” says Mrs Goodhew.  

“The law limits sales of lasers to those under 1mW in power. However, many lasers are still being sold that have either incorrect or no information about their strength.” 

Thank you for inviting me to the meeting today. It is my pleasure to be here to express my support to the Network and to hear how your work is progressing.