10. Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
Will he act to prevent closure of health services in Taihape?
Hon PETER DUNNE (Associate Minister of Health) Link to this
The Minister is keeping in close touch with the Whanganui District Health Board as it works to get the best possible outcomes for Taihape in the light of the decision of the trustees of the Ōtaihape Health Trust to place the facility into liquidation. As a result of those efforts, the district health board has ensured the continuation of general practice, primary maternity, day services for older people, home-based support services, radiology, specialist out-patient services, palliative care, the mobile bus surgical service, and more for the people of Taihape.
Will he apologise to Donna Wood, the clinical coordinator of Ōtaihape Health, who says in her letter to him of 23 November that his statement that Taihape will retain all its services is not true, and that Taihape will in fact lose its 24-hour access to PRIME-trained registered nurses, its medical beds, its in-patient palliative care, its respite care and day-care services, its maternity services, its meals on wheels, and its mortuary service? Will he now apologise to Donna and the people of Taihape?
I think it is important to put in context what the Ōtaihape facility actually is. It is not a public hospital; it is a rest home. Despite significant contributions made by the district health board, including writing off some $450,000 of back rent and other support in the order of $1 million, the facility is simply not sustainable. As I said in the primary answer, a range of services in Taihape will be retained, and they will be to the benefit of the people of that particular town.
Will he step in to ensure that aged care, post-operative and medical beds, palliative care, and respite-care services will not be lost to the Taihape community, as John Key, the Prime Minister, promised it recently?
The Minister has made it clear to the district health board that he expects the needs of the elderly population of the Taihape area to continue to be met. I am sure the Minister will keep the district health board to its obligations in that regard.
Does he have any concern at all for the residents of Ruanui Hospital, particularly for one who turns 94 this Saturday and who is getting an eviction order from the hospital as her birthday present—a situation described by the area’s current member of Parliament, Simon Power, as “unsettling”, but clearly more than unsettling for the 2,900 people who have signed a petition asking that these services be retained?
This is always going to be a very stressful and testing time for people involved in that situation. That is fully understood. But the fact of the matter is that the trustees have decided to put the facility into liquidation because despite the fact that there has been a substantial cash injection into it, a $450,000 debt is still arising from back rent. They have made the call that this particular facility is not sustainable. As the Minister has pointed out, he is seeking assurances from the Whanganui District Health Board that a range of services will continue to be provided and that the people will not be adversely affected.
I seek leave to table the letter of 23 November that I referred to in a previous question. It is the letter from Donna Wood to Tony Ryall that points out that his statements, just repeated by the acting Minister of Health, are entirely wrong.
Mr SPEAKER