Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
The state of the health service has been a constant concern for New Zealanders in recent polling in the face of continuous media reports over staff shortages, lengthy waiting times in emergency departments and an inability to get in to see a GP.
The Health Minister, Simeon Brown, took over the portfolio at the start of the year and has already focused heavily on primary health with a planned 24/7 digital health service, so- called performance based funding over and above the annual capitation.
He has also targeted elective surgery waiting lists by outsourcing thousands of apparently straightforward operations to private hospitals.
But both moves have sparked worries about the implications from health professionals at both the primary and hospital level. Simeon Brown joins Kathryn in the studio to discuss his plans for the health system.
