Hon Tony Ryall

Minister of Health

14 December 2012 Media Statement

Primary Care Making Gains In Preventive Health Targets

Health Minister Tony Ryall says general practices, supported by Primary Health Organisations (PHOs), are making good progress in the three national preventive health targets.

Over the past year general practices have:
• Immunised 58,000 children from vaccine preventable diseases, like whooping cough, measles and mumps
• Offered quit support to 191,000 smokers
• Performed 134,000 cardiovascular disease risk assessments.

“The 2012/13 quarter one Primary Care Health Target results, released today, show general practices continue to make gains in the preventive targets and improve the health of New Zealanders,” said Mr Ryall.

“The number of smokers offered support to quit has increased by 5 per cent. A number of PHOs have made significant improvements in the past quarter. Health Rotorua Limited, for example, has improved by 13 per cent.

“Over three quarters of the PHOs have achieved the new immunisation step target of having 85 per cent of eight months old vaccinated on time by July 2013. General practices and PHOs in Canterbury have done particularly well considering the pressures facing the community there.

“29 PHOs improved their performance this quarter in the more heart and diabetes checks target.”

PHOs are funded by district health boards to provide health care services through general practices to patients who are registered with them.

ENDS

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Arguably Reassuring: Inspector-General Finds GCSB "Arguably" Legal

Of the 88 individuals:

• 15 cases involving 22 individuals did not have any information intercepted by GCSB.

• another four cases involving five individuals were the subjects of a New Zealand Security Intelligence Service warrant and the GCSB assisted in the execution of the warrants. The Inspector-General is of the view that there were arguably no breaches and the law is unclear.

• the Bureau only provided technical assistance which did not involve interception of communications, involving three of the individuals, so no breach occurred.

• the remaining cases involved the collection of metadata, and the Inspector-General formed the view that there had arguably been no breach, noting once again that the law is unclear.
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