Simeon Brown: Health Minister on the progress on health targets, ED wait times

The Health Minister says it's a complex task to unclog the issue of ED wait times.  Progress is being made on the Government's health targets, with all five areas improving year on year in the March quarter.   However some progress is incremental, with EDs seeing a 0.2% rise to 74.4% of patients being admitted, discharged, or transferred within six hours.   Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking there's no single solution.  He says it needs to be made easier to see a GP, which they've done with a big uplift in funding and more after hour care like the new centre in South Auckland.  The Health Minister says they're looking to keep using private hospitals as much as they can to reduce wait times.  Brown says Health New Zealand's looking at longer term contracts with providers to get more delivery and better value for money.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.