Health Dollars Blown On Bureaucracy

act-new-zealand

Fri Oct 05 2007 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Health Dollars Blown On Bureaucracy

Friday, 5 October 2007, 12:38 am
Press Release: ACT New Zealand

ACT New Zealand Health Spokesman Heather Roy today questioned what value there was in being a member of District Health Boards New Zealand, given that this membership is costing DHBs around the country tens of thousands of dollars each year.

"These figures - the first released by DHB NZ since it became subject to the Official Information Act - show that being signed up to DHBNZ cost the country's DHBs a total of $723,040 in the 2006/07 financial year alone," Mrs Roy said.

"Broken down, this was tens of thousands of dollars paid by each individual DHB for that year - with Canterbury, Waitemata and Counties-Manukau DHBs each paying an astounding $89,280, $86,560 and $80,320 respectively.

"Given that $723,040 could fund a large number of surgical procedures - approximately 25 Coronary Bypasses, 47 Hip Replacements operations, or 241 cataract operations - this information raises serious questions about the sort of value there is to be gained in our DHBs being signed up to this national body.

"The question of value is even more pertinent in light of the fact that Auckland withdrew from the national body more than two years ago, and Canterbury DHB voted to follow suit in July 13 of this year - with Chair Syd Bradley having been reported in the media as believing that CDHB was not getting value for money and criticising DHBNZ as a 'flawed and unaccountable' entity.

"These comments, combined with the amount of Health dollars being poured into DHBNZ membership - enough money to provide grommets for a massive 628 children - are extremely worrying.

"Precious Health dollars should be spent on alleviating the pain and suffering of those waiting far too long on hospital waiting lists not on the extra layer of pointless and ineffectual bureaucracy that DHBNZ represents," Mrs Roy said.

ENDS

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