Simeon Brown: Health Minister on health targets improving in the last quarter

The Health Minister acknowledges more work's needed to ensure the Government's targets are met in every region. 

Data shows there's been improvements around cancer treatment access, childhood immunisation rates, ED stays, and wait times. 

But regional averages paint a different picture, with Counties Manukau and Auckland going backwards in ED wait times. 

Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking that decrease is due to localized factors. 

He says there's been a significant increase in people turning up to those hospitals' EDs, which has an impact on wait times. 

Child immunisation rates have seen the biggest lift among the targets.  

The proportion of children fully immunised by age two is up more than five points, to 82 percent. 

Brown told Hosking significant work is going into lifting immunisation rates to avoid declines like those seen in the US. 

He says they're investing more money and working with primary care, but adds that some regions need more work. 

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