National wants to legislate for health targets

Stuff reports:

National wants to make National Health Targets a legal requirement with a new bill, but governments would be allowed to decide what targets to set.

It uses almost exactly the same wording as the Government’s own child poverty legislation, which contains the same requirement.

It comes after Stuff revealed the Ministry of Health had quietly stopped publishing data from six National Health Targets, under a directive from Health Minister David Clark. 

Labour doesn’t want accountability. Health targets allow patients and taxpayers to see if the health system is delivering more services and better outcomes for the extra funding.

“Tremendous gains were achieved when they were set and performance against them was published,” said Woodhouse. 

“Research indicates that 700 lives per year have been saved by the target to shorten stays in emergency departments. 

“Childhood immunisation rates have risen from 67 per cent to 92 per cent, cancer treatment waiting times are now at world-best standards and people no longer have to travel to Australia for basic treatment – as as the case under the previous Labour Government,” he said. 

The health targets were very successful. Cancer treatment waiting times used to be a disgrace.