Dr Jonathan Coleman National Party Associate Health Spokesman

23 March 2006

Hodgson needs to wake up

Health Minister Pete Hodgson needs to face up to the fact that Aucklanders aren't getting the heart surgery they need, and he better do something about it immediately, says National Party Associate Health spokesman Dr Jonathan Coleman.

"In Parliament yesterday, Mr Hodgson tried every trick in the book to divert discussion from the main issue, which is that heart operations simply aren't getting done at Auckland DHB," says Dr Coleman.

"Rather than blowing a gasket at MPs who dare to question him on his portfolio responsibilities, he needs to focus on the desperately sick Aucklanders who are languishing on heart surgery waiting lists with no chance of ever getting the operations they need."

The New Zealand Herald reported today that Auckland DHB had admitted that current elective heart surgery waiting list and waiting times were unacceptable.

"The Minister is in denial. He needs to face the facts and sort this mess out, because he's dealing with people's lives here," says Dr Coleman.

ENDS

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