Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): On Friday, I had the privilege of opening two new operating theatres and a cardiac catheter laboratory at Whangarei Hospital. The cardiac catheter laboratory is expected to treat around a thousand patients a year, and the two new operating theatres bring the total number at Whangarei Hospital to eight. I also announced the Government's commitment to see out phase two of the Northland DHB critical capacity and compliance stage two project that will address the shortage of in-patient bed capacity and see the accreditation of a laboratory. This is a significant investment into Whangarei Hospital after nine long years of underfunding.