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Health Minister Tony Ryall has joined the Healthline team celebrating the 2.5 millionth call to the free 24-hour health advice phone line.

Mr Ryall met the parents of a young girl who believe their daughter's life may have been saved by the advice she got from Healthline (story attached). He also met with the nurse who took call number 2.5 million, and was shown how the telephone triage system works.

About 80 percent of calls to Healthline require nurse assessment.

Good afternoon.

It is a pleasure to be here today to help open your newly refurbished buildings.

While medical progress finds new cures at an accelerating pace every day, there will always the need for end of life care.

And as Dame Cicely Saunders – the modern founder of Hospice – said the end of life "can turn out to be the most important part."

The government recognises the vital part Hospice plays in providing relief, comfort and dignity to people who may be in pain and difficult circumstances.

The Government's six national health targets are being updated in the key preventive health areas of immunisation and cardiovascular disease (CVD), and for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

These changes were part of National's 2011 election commitments.

Health Minister Tony Ryall has announced, "Medical oncology is being added to the cancer waiting time target from the middle of this year. This means all patients who need either radiation or chemotherapy treatment should get it within the world gold standard of four weeks.

The Government has given Canterbury District Health Board the go ahead to develop a business case for rebuilding the city's hospitals.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says the 'modified greenfield' option being considered involves rebuilding most of the clinical wards at Christchurch Hospital including a new acute services wing. It also includes a new specialist centre for older peoples' services at Burwood Hospital.

New guidelines for journalists reporting on suicides have been developed with the media and not imposed on them, and that should be key to their success, Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne says.

“Media buy-in for such guidelines is crucial. This is the first time that media organisations have agreed to use a single, consistent set of guidelines.

“The fact that these have not been imposed from outside augurs well for their success,” Mr Dunne said in launching the resource today.

An additional synthetic cannabis substance is in the process of being banned and expected to be off the shelves late next week, Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced today.

This brings to 20 the total number of substances now banned under Temporary Class Drug Notices, Mr Dunne said, in noting that it comes days after the head of the National Poisons Centre, Dr Leo Schep, said the centre was no longer receiving calls about synthetic cannabis.