Cancer treatment appears to be a priority for the country's 21 District Health Boards.

The 21 DHBs' ratings on the Government's six health targets are being published nationally for the first time today in a bid to force them to improve.

All seven district health boards from Taupo north have scored well on access to cancer radiation therapy, but not on the length of time patients stay in emergency departments.

Nationwide, 18 DHBs met their target for ensuring everyone needing radiation treatment had it within six weeks of their first specialist assessment by the end of July and within four weeks by December this year. Canterbury, MidCentral and Nelson Marlborough were within three to four percent of the goal.

At the Auckland DHBs' emergency departments, 70 percent of patients were admitted to a ward, discharged or transferred within six hours. The target is 95 percent. The region's three DHBs are also well down in getting better help for smokers to quit.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says the results show there is still a lot of work to be done. He says while the graphs show there has been a vast improvement it is clear there is still a lot of progress DHBs have to make.

Mr Ryall says there are still too many people waiting too long in emergency departments, not enough kids being immunised and not enough help for smokers to quit .

He says people are entitled to know how well their health services are delivering. He is confident public scrutiny will improve not only performance but also accountability.