Earlier this year, the new Dunedin hospital was revealed to have only eight mental health for older people beds upon opening in 2031 — compared with 20 in its original business case.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) indicated at the time the cuts were being made because more patients would be looked after in the community under a new model of care.
Labour says the government has done nothing to develop the new model since the announcements and the community could suffer as a result.
Health Minister Simeon Brown’s office did not directly respond to questions about whether work had been done on the "new models of care", where the new beds in the community would be located and how many there would be.
"We have given the people of Dunedin certainty that their new hospital will be future-proofed and designed around changing models of care.
"This reflects Health New Zealand’s updated approach to bed modelling, which accounts for a shift towards more outpatient and community-based services and aligns with Australasian benchmarks."
University of Otago associate professor of psychiatry and consultant psychogeriatrician Dr Yoram Barak said the government’s remarks were "facetious" at best.
"They were never going to provide enough beds in the community."
Even if there were enough beds in the community, that ignored the fact that "between two-thirds to three-quarters" of mental health for older patients in the hospital would be subject to the Mental Health Act, Dr Barak said.
"They have to be in the hospital because there is nowhere else which would provide the required standard of care."
Labour health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall was disappointed.
"Clearly this government has done no work on ensuring there is care in the community available for those needing psychogeriatric care," Dr Verrall said. "They seem to have shelved the work started under Labour to look at creating more community beds, and many families cannot wait to 2031 and beyond for care. They need it now."
Taieri Labour MP Ingrid Leary said any lack of action would have flow-on effects.
"This will impact rural seniors across the whole lower South, including my communities in Clutha, who also need these beds in their own communities so they can be closer to family.”
