Source: New Zealand Parliament – Hansard
Question No. 2—Health
2. Dr HAMISH CAMPBELL (National—Ilam) to the Minister of Health: What actions has the Government taken to improve the lives of New Zealanders, and their families, affected by cancer?
Hon Dr SHANE RETI (Minister of Health): Tomorrow is Daffodil Day, so I’d like to start off by acknowledging our hard-working health staff and the volunteers helping those with cancer. Daffodil Day represents hope for many New Zealanders and their families who have been impacted by cancer. We know that many people will experience cancer in their lifetime, whether that’s personally or through a relative or a friend; we know the toll that it can take. That’s why this Government is committed to improving cancer outcomes for all New Zealanders. That’s why we have brought back targets, invested in cancer treatments, improved access to cancer services, and expanded cancer screening eligibility.
Dr Hamish Campbell: What investments has the Government made into cancer treatments?
Hon Dr SHANE RETI: Since coming into Government, we’ve been very busy in the cancer space. We’ve made a transformative investment of $604 million into Pharmac, which will deliver up to 26 cancer treatments from October this year, increasing access to vital medicines for those impacted by cancer. We’re also building a new cancer radiotherapy machine at Whangārei Hospital, so 520 Northlanders a year will no longer have to travel to Auckland for treatment. For those New Zealanders who do still have to travel for their specialist treatment, we’ve boosted the National Travel Assistance scheme by $18 million a year.
Dr Hamish Campbell: How has the Government improved access to cancer screening?
Hon Dr SHANE RETI: We know that improving access to screening and diagnostic services will save lives. That is why we have prioritised action in this area. You will have already seen that we are extending the breast cancer screening age from 70 to 74 years, which will save an estimated 65 lives per year at full uptake. This extension also means that around 120,000 additional women will be eligible for screening every two years. We’ve removed access barriers for positron emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT) scans by approving funding for an updated set of criteria, which allows for about 1,000 more publicly funded PET-CT scans per year—many of which will be for cancer, especially prostate cancer. New Zealanders deserve timely access to healthcare when they need it most.
Dr Hamish Campbell: What else is the Government doing to drive better cancer outcomes?
Hon Dr SHANE RETI: There are many initiatives that we have got under way to improve cancer outcomes. Cancer touches thousands of Kiwi families each year and, although we have already made a number of significant advancements, we know there’s still a long way to go. In recent years, we’ve seen people experiencing longer delays in accessing cancer treatment. More patients are waiting longer than the 31 days for their cancer management to start, with those meeting the target dropping from over 90 percent a few years ago to around 82.7 percent now. This is unacceptable. That is why we’ve introduced a target to have 90 percent of patients receive cancer management within 31 days of the decision to treat. Having health targets back at the forefront of our decision making will help direct the attention and resources to make this happen. This target will also provide the accountability and transparency that the system needs to ensure it is delivering timely access to cancer treatment when New Zealanders are in their time of need.
