The party’s health policy said: “Labour believes that the amount provided for an emergency grant should actually cover the costs of urgent dental work. The rate of Special Needs Grants for dental treatment has not moved in over two decades, despite the rising costs.” The policy document said extending urgent dental grants was recommended by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group and the New Zealand Dental Association. Health Minister Andrew Little’s office confirmed that it was still committed to the policy, but it had not been funded in Budget 2021.
JOHN BISSET/STUFF
The government promised emergency health grants for dental care, kicking in from this year.
However, he is concerned about wait times for surveillance screening for patients who had possible indications of bowel cancer and needed to be checked regularly. While not a dramatic increase there had been an increase in waiting times for people who in the past had indication of possible bowel cancer but who are had shown up negative but who needed to be kept under surveillance. “. and delays in getting that testing done has been at a level that’s not acceptable. There is work under way to improve that. But in terms of the other measures for those services, the Southern DHB is more or less meeting the target times and the target volumes expected for that population,” Little said.
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