Politics

Labour pledges health funding changes

19:59 pm on 28 February 2014

The Labour Party says it would change the health funding system to send more money to the Southern District Health Board.

Annette King spoke at a public meeting in Dunedin. Photo: RNZ

The DHB has suffered a string of problems in the past two weeks including allegations of fraud in a health contract, the collapse of its IT system and the loss of almost 4000 mammograms.

It's also been in financial deficit for more than a decade.

Labour's health spokesperson, Annette King, has told a meeting in Dunedin that Labour would change the health funding allocation system to give the region more money.

She says the Southern DHB has the largest rural area to service and the funding formula may not be accounting for that properly.

Ms King says if elected, a Labour government would review the population-based funding model to make it more fair.