15 September 2009
Media Statement

Diabetes services in disarray

Health cuts are now impacting across the spectrum for all health services associated with diabetes, Labour Health spokesperson Ruth Dyson says.

“Since becoming Minister of Health Tony Ryall has presided over the removal of healthy guidelines in school tucks shops and the axing of the obesity prevention target for District Health Boards, instead waffling about how school children kicking a ball around will prevent the tidal wave of obesity-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes,” Ruth Dyson said.

“Tony Ryall has shown scant regard for experts like Dr Jeremy Krebs, Clinical Leader, Endocrinology and Diabetes at Wellington Hospital, who says the National government’s decision to allow junk food in tuck-shops is ‘a backward step in dealing with the growing obesity problem in New Zealand,” and a step that will mean more people with diabetes in our country’.

“His decision to ignore clinical experts comes on top of the $4.8 million slashed from the “Let’s Get Checked” diabetes programme annually to make it harder for the public to find out if they are suffering from this life-threatening condition.

“But now his cuts are impacting on those who literally are dependent on their very life for public health services.

“This week my colleague Moana Mackey told me the distressing story, of an elderly Gisborne man, who faces nine months in Waikato hospital, away from his wife and his home, because of a shortage of funding for his dialysis.

“National campaigned on a Health Policy of “Better Sooner and More Convenient”. What New Zealand has got is Fewer, Slower and Less Convenient health services.

“Tony Ryall’s management of the health service has been an exercise in vanity where he has bragged about statistics but failed real people, who need affordable and accessible health care,” Ruth Dyson said.

Patient services cut in eight months

• Mid-Central DHB to cut $10 million from budget.

• General Manager for Corporate Services Stuart Wilson confirmed the DHB would carry out a line by line review and reduce the standard of services provided to patients to produce cuts of that nature. The DHB is also predicting job losses

• Southland and Otago DHBs have confirmed they are cutting home support services to reduce costs. The Boards were looking to make savings of up to $10 million by reducing home support services for elderly.

• Whanganui DHB has said it will be closing hospital wards on weekends to save money on nursing overtime.

• Taranaki DHB has publicly signalled that its hospital is preparing for cut backs.

• South Canterbury DHB has said it will be reducing the amount of patients seen in its Emergency Department by up to 5000 people a year.

• SCDHB has also signalled that it is looking to reduce the number of patients using radiology services.

• The DHB also confirmed on Friday that it would be axing up to 200 elective operations per year because of a cut in Government funding.

• Tony Ryall this year signed off on a 6.5 percent increase in GP fees the largest increase since fees came in.

• Ian Powell head of the senior doctors union on the weekend expressed concern that the Minister was increasing elective surgery statistics by allowing DHBs to carry out easier cheaper, quicker procedures while leaving the more complex cases.

• The Fruit in Schools programme which currently provides 100,000 children with fresh fruit each day is under threat.

• Post budget Treasury documents show that primary health and health promotion services that target specific health conditions have had funding cuts of $37 million this year.

• National have taken $2.3 million out of cancer control,

• Slashed the diabetes ‘let’s get checked’ budget by $4.8 million

• Cut $3 million from the cardiovascular disease budget.

• Mental Health services have also had their funding cut.

ENDS

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