6. Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
Are all communities his priority for better, sooner, more convenient health care?
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health) Link to this
The Government wants all communities to receive the best possible health services. How these are provided at different communities will change over time, as we are seeing, for example, in Taihape, where the individual circumstances of a contracted provider can mean that services need to be provided in a different way.
When he told district health boards earlier this year that 2010 would see him target primary care, did he mean target it for scrapping, including stripping elderly couple Joan and Lou Campbell of their right to live near their daughter in Taihape?
This is, of course, a concerning time for the people of Taihape. When a provider cannot carry on, then there is always uncertainty. What is certain is that the Whanganui District Health Board is working closely with the liquidator, the primary health organisation, and other interested parties to ensure that the health needs of the community, particularly those of the elderly, are met. The district health board has been working with the trust to help it to get on to a firmer financial footing, including writing off back rents of $450,000, and providing outside financial expertise and other support over and above the normal payment for services. I am advised that this additional support totals over $1 million.
How does making front-line nurse Donna Wood and midwife Angelique Tucker redundant and leaving their community in Taihape without their services make anything more convenient for local residents?
It is very important that the member understands the full transitional arrangements that are under way. It is proposed that the midwives will be employed by a different entity. The district health board advises that the primary maternity services will continue, and that the families of Taihape will receive the same services from the same midwives in the facility. The district health board has been working very closely with the trust, and when a provider cannot carry on it is always a difficult time for a community.
Nicky WagnerAre all communities in the Wellington region a priority for better health care; if so, what decisions have been made to deliver this?
Yes; and yesterday the Government announced the chairs, the deputy chairs, and members of the district health boards, including a joint chair for the Hutt Valley District Health Board and the Capital and Coast District Health Board. This is part of the Government’s drive for closer collaboration between the boards, to improve services for patients. These two boards are dependent on each other to be successful. Last year 2,600 Hutt Valley patients had operations in Wellington, and 1,300 Wellington people had procedures in the Hutt Valley. It makes a lot of sense for these boards to work well with each other.
Why did John Key promise Taihape residents on his visit just 1 month ago that everything would be all right, yet now the locals are facing the closure of their health centre, with a loss of 50 jobs and all the services they provide, including primary care, maternity services, community nursing, allied health services, and the closure of their only rest home?
The premise of the member’s question is not correct. The fact is that services in Taihape are going through a period of transition because the provider cannot carry on. The district health board was prepared, for example, to put almost $400,000 extra in on an ongoing basis. But arrangements are being put in place to make sure that services can continue as best they can, and the people of Taihape will be kept fully informed.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
When he told the House on 29 July 2010 in response to my question about the termination of after-hour general practitioner services in Rangiora: “… I am advised that discussions are under way between Pegasus Health, St John, and the acute demand programme about improving services in that area, and that we hope there will be some announcements following that shortly.”, was he aware that the services in the deal that he and his colleague Kate Wilkinson were claiming to have brokered already existed; and does he really think that over 8,200 people who signed a petition calling for the Government to reinstate a service they have had for over 22 years will not see through his and his colleague’s false promises?
The premise of the member’s question is simply not correct. Those services may have existed in Christchurch, but they did not necessarily exist in the area of debate at the moment. They are working very closely to improve the situation there, and I think there will be an outcome that is very positive for the community.