ACC medical misadventure consultation begins

ACC Minister Ruth Dyson says she is pleased to announce today the release of the consultation document for the review of the medical misadventure provisions in the ACC scheme.

"Even though the quality of healthcare continues to improve, people are sometimes unintentionally injured when receiving treatment," Ms Dyson said.

Consideration of the ACC medical misadventure scheme by government agencies in the past 12 months has found it works well in comparison to equivalent schemes in other countries.

"It is a superior alternative to seeking remedies through the courts," Ms Dyson said. "Nevertheless, some claimants and health professionals see the current provisions as being unfair, confusing or arbitrary. I agree. It will be in everybody's interest to see these provisions improved."

Ms Dyson said the government had decided that any changes made as a result of the review would not be linked to a levy on health professionals.

Accordingly, the costs of medical misadventure would continue to borne by people who are earning and by the government, which would contribute around half the costs.

"My primary reason for the review is to see if we can make the ACC medical misadventure provisions more fair and consistent," Ms Dyson said.

The document, Review of ACC Medical Misadventure, will be available from the ACC (http:// http://www.acc.co.nz) and Department of Labour (http:// http://www.dol.govt.nz) web sites, from 11.00am today.

The closing date for submissions is Friday, 4 July, 2003.