Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises — If we want a symbol of that, we can look at what is happening at Waitakere Hospital. That hospital was a complete mess; what have we got? From last week that accident and emergency facility is now open 24 hours a day to adult patients. Since last June it has been open 24 hours a day to children. That is a real service for the people of west Auckland.
← Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises — I can now say that that long line of people has dried up, because the performance of the Waitematā District Health Board, which was in such dire straits, has been radically turned round under the leadership of Tony Ryall as health Minister, and, very important, of Dr Lester Levy as the chair of that board. Members will remember that that district health board was very dysfunctional. It was really run by people who were more interested in political considerations than in the health of the people of the North Shore and the Waitematā district. But we can say now that things really have turned round.
Debate on Crown Entities, Public Organisations, and State Enterprises — We can also look at what is happening at North Shore Hospital. Tomorrow we are opening a new renal dialysis unit, so that people from the North Shore no longer have to go to other district health boards to get the dialysis that they need, basically, to save their lives and keep on living a functional life. That is an amazing achievement. If we looked at what was happening at the North Shore accident and emergency department under the last Government, we saw there were perpetually long queues of people, extending out into the car-park, trying to get the treatment they needed. They could not get into that department; it was diabolical—mayhem. The morale of staff was at an all-time low. We have delivered on our promises. We have opened the first stage of the Lakeview development, which will deliver a new, re-engineered accident and emergency facility that will meet the requirements of patients. It was designed by the staff, and it has had major input from them. There will be an assessment unit there, and more beds in that hospital to allow the clinicians to manage the flow of patients. There is a major achievement there. →