Budget boost for palliative care

New money is being poured into palliative care for the terminally ill, with $76.1 million to be spent on hospices and community care services in the next four years.

Jonathan Coleman Photo: RNZ / Karen Brown

The Government said the funding would go towards meeting the demand for palliative care as the country's population grew and aged.

In 2013, more than 15,000 people received care and support from hospice services and 20 percent of those sufferers were under the age of 60, according to the Government.

Most of the care was for cancer-related diseases.

To address that, each year for the next four years $13 million will go towards helping hospices expand their care services for terminally ill people at home and in rest homes.

There is also money to recruit 60 new nurse specialists and other palliative care experts.

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No bowel cancer screening extension

However, there is no money in this year's budget to boost screening for bowel cancer, despite intensive lobbying to tackle the disease which kills 1200 people a year.

Instead, a pilot scheme is being restricted to Waitemata District Health Board, which will receive a further $12.4 million until the end of 2017.

The Government said it had decided not to roll out potentially life-saving colonoscopies because there was not yet the staff to do them.

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman he was considering the next steps for a national bowel screening programme.

John Key and Bill English doing bridge run before the Budget is announced.

John Key (left) and Bill English on their way to announce the 2015 Budget.

Winston Peters responding to Budget 2015 "I see red".

Winston Peters responding to Budget 2015.

Andrew Little giving his 2015 Budget speech.

John Key responds to the Labour Party's Budget reply speech.

Andrew Little grilling Bill English's 2015 Budget in parliament house.

John Key responds to the Labour Party's Budget reply speech.

Te Ururoa Flavell giving his Budget 2015 speech.

This budget will be the seventh for Finance Minister Bill English (right - pictured with Steven Joyce on the way to the lock-up at Parliament's Banquet Hall).

Peter Dunne giving his 2015 Budget speech.

Bill English (left) and Steven Joyce handing out the Budget to parliament members in the house.

Steven Joyce (left) and Bill English leaving the 2015 Budget lock-up at Banquet Hall, Parliament.

Bill English giving the 2015 Budget in Parliament house.

Metiria Turei giving her 2015 Budget Speech to the house, parliament.

Steven Joyce (left), Paula Bennett and Bill English arriving at the 2015 Budget lock-up at Banquet Hall, Parliament.

Steven Joyce (left) and Bill English arriving at the lock-up - where about 160 journalists and analysts are waiting.

Bill English giving his Post Budget 2015 speech.

Andrew Little delivering his Post Budget 2015 speech.

Radio New Zealand's economics correspondent Patrick O'Meara, host Susie Ferguson and political editor Brent Edwards in the studio.

Labour leader Andrew Little - at a post-Budget stand-up with reporters at Parliament..JPG

Maori Party MP Marama Fox (left) and ActionStation director Marianne Elliott hongi after the delivery of a petition calling for a Budget to end child poverty.

15,000 signature petition calling for a Budget to end child poverty in front of parliament.

Bill English picking up the 2015 budget at the printers in Petone, Lower Hutt.

Fiscal Strategy Report 2015

Budget 2015 report

Bill English pre-budget speech in Wellington 1 May 2015.

John Key after pre-budget speech to Business New Zealand.

Total increase small

Overall, year-on-year, the health sector budget has increased by $311 million.

The total spend on health for the next year will be $15.9 billion. Part of that will go on elective, or non-urgent, surgery for orthopaedic treatments - an initiative announced ahead of the budget.

District Health Boards will get an extra $320 million in the next year.

That funding for hospitals will disappoint but not surprise senior doctors, who were asking for $630 million just to keep services ticking over.

Moving money around

One area getting less funding in the year ahead will be what is known as "personal healthcare and support services" - or Crown contracts for such things as mobile surgical units and phone helplines.

The annual pot of money shrinks from about $96 million to $78.

The Government argues cuts such as these are required to meet new needs, such as the cries for help from the hospice sector.