[ACT] Private Healthcare The Real Answer -- Heather Roy

[a...@parliament.govt.nz]

Private Healthcare The Real Answer

Wednesday 28 Jul 2004
Heather Roy
Press Releases -- Health
(view HTML version at: http://www.act.org.nz/item.jsp?id=25910 )

ACT New Zealand Health Spokesman Heather Roy today said the move of
some emergency departments offering patients vouchers for private care
is a step in the right direction.

"Increasing numbers of patients presenting for treatment at A&E
departments is a nationwide trend - one that is inevitable when you
have a fee-paying service competing with one that is free," Mrs Roy
said.

"Some patients will always exploit such a system. Few people would
choose to pay medical fees if they know there is a place where they
can be treated free of charge. This means that, rather than seeing
their GP, many patients are opting instead to show up at A&E - often
with problems that do not warrant urgent medical attention.

"The result is even more pressure on already over-stretched services
and over-worked hospital staff. Which is why the idea of offering
some emergency patients private care is a step in the right direction:
it gets the incentives right and will remove much of the burden from
hospital staff.

"This, however, would be completely unnecessary if the public sector
had been encouraged to co-operate with the private sector. By
allowing its ideological objection to private healthcare to colour its
policies, the Government has ignored the availability of other
providers and left the public sector to bear the load alone.

"The increasing demands of our aging population mean that we must look
at other ways of providing health services. The private sector has
the capacity, expertise and willingness to expand, and we should be
using it more. Provision of health services by the private sector is
the way of the future," Mrs Roy said.

ENDS

Heather Roy MP
heath...@parliament.govt.nz
Phone: 04 470 6631 / 021 887 727
Fax: 04 473 3532

Chas Te Runa, Press Secretary
chas.t...@parliament.govt.nz
Phone: 04 470 6648 / 027 289 4080

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or
contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at a...@parliament.govt.nz.