Transcript
NANDI GLASSIE: 3.4 percent is equivalent to about 13 million dollars in the Cook Islands. Given the situation in the Cook Islands that is all we can run by at this stage. We also have a lot of assistance from medical specialists from New Zealand. They visit the Cook Islands so they help provide tertiary care. We also got a very excellent referral system. People that are ill in the outer islands we fly them to Rarotonga and if they need further medical care given their serious situation then we refer them to New Zealand. Even though we might be 3.4 percent, but in terms of our internal services particularly the referral services from here to New Zealand is one of the best.
JO O'BRIEN: The surgeon I spoke with he said that lack of funding for health in the Cook Islands is leading people to perceive the system there as inadequate, equipment breaks down, they don't have the right drugs and that's leading some people to try and get their health care overseas in New Zealand and Australia. Do you accept those criticisms?
NG: Not really I disagree with the surgeon with respect because there is no way you can compare the standard of medical care in New Zealand to that of the Cook Islands. We have our constraints but the Ministry of Health in the Cook Islands is one of the best agency or ministry in the Cook Islands. We have been awarded public service awards of excellence for the last two years because of the way we address health issues and health delivery in the Cook Islands. We have very, less complaints coming from the patients. We set some of the best records. Our level of pregnant mothers dying is zero for the last nine years, that's another indication. The only people that we refer are those that's beyond our capacity to look after them and that's why we refer them to New Zealand. But for us I can assure you as the Minister of Health, the way we provide administration and health care delivery in the Cook Islands is one of the best in the region.
JOB: This surgeon talking about what he described as a two-tier system, specifically mentioned that the more advantaged people such as politicians were able to afford to go and access better health care overseas?
NG: Well I am a politician, I don't get any health care from New Zealand. It is true at some stage that those who seek further medical care are those who can afford it and that's true, or those who have health insurance in New Zealand, understandably they will go for such services. But for the local people I can vouch that we have a surgeon over here, he's highly qualified, New Zealand trained, doing a very marvellous job and so is our doctors over here, is highly respected by the community at large.
JOB: And just coming back to this figure of 3.4 percent of GDP is spent on health, would you like to see a higher percentage, and what else is that money going towards that's a bigger priority?
NG: Those are arbitrary figures. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health has got the larger portion of the budget beside Internal Affairs or Welfare. So I would say that rather than looking at the ratio, but the way we appropriate our budget to the two key social policy areas of education and health are at this stage appropriate to our situation.
JOB: So have you been arguing for more money?
NG: Yes but then again you argue for money provided it is of utmost priority in our situation. I mean we have so many priorities. We have patients referred to New Zealand for kidney problems because we don't have any dialysis machine, and there are other areas. We need to have more money to have doctors on some of the outer islands but the reality for the Cook Islands is that we have people migrating to New Zealand and to Australia. We have an issue with depopulation. Therefore if people are sick in the outer islands it's easier for the Ministry of Health to fly them to Rarotonga.
