Today’s Pharmac report is a damning reflection of the Labour Government’s mismanagement of health, National’s Health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti says.

“The Pharmac report has revealed some significant deficiencies which the Government has failed to address. It is no wonder Health Minister Andrew Little has hidden this report from the public for four months.

“Instead of spending the last five years working to improve health outcomes and delivering better services for New Zealanders, this Labour Government has been focused on its ideological and hugely disruptive health restructure.

“The report found that under this Government’s watch, Pharmac hasn’t achieved the savings it claims and is likely to have contributed to inequities for Māori. For some time National has expressed concerns about these issues, but rather than address them, the Government has spent its time creating new health bureaucracies in Wellington.

“The report also describes a lack of clear targets, insufficient reporting and an absence of an up to date principles based medicines strategy, which will disrupt Pharmac’s integration into the wider health system – if and when the Government’s restructure is actually completed.

“National is calling on the Government to stop focusing on creating new bureaucracy, and instead do the work to make sure Pharmac is performing, so that New Zealanders have access to the medicines and treatments they deserve.

“Minister Little must take responsibility for this poor performance and address the 33 recommendations.”

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