Hon Simeon Brown
Minister of Health

Health Minister Simeon Brown has today released his five key priorities for Health New Zealand in a speech to the BusinessNZ Health Forum in Auckland.

“The Government is investing a record $16.68 billion of additional funding in health, but we need to ensure Kiwis are seeing improved outcomes from this significant expenditure.

“Under the last Government, the system was focused on bureaucratic restrictions, rather than delivery for patients.

“I am putting the focus firmly back on patients, and ensuring the health system puts those it serves first.

“I have today released my five key health priorities as Minister of Health:

1. Focusing Health New Zealand on delivering the basics and achieving targets
2. Fixing primary healthcare to ensure Kiwis have timely access to a doctor.
3. Reducing emergency department wait times so that 95 percent of people are admitted, discharged, or transferred within six hours.
4. Clearing the elective surgery backlog by partnering with the private sector to deliver more planned care.
5. Investing in health infrastructure, both physical and digital, so that we are building for the future.

“This plan is underpinned by a focus on putting patients first and supporting our frontline healthcare workers to deliver the healthcare New Zealanders need in a timely and quality manner.

"I promise every New Zealander: we will not stop until our health system delivers timely, quality care to all,” Mr Brown says.
 

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