The plan, released last week, is still short on detail.
In his announcement about the plan Health Minister Simeon Brown said it would bring care closer to home for one of the country’s fastest growing regions so residents could access the right care at the right time where they live.
As he pointed out, about 70% of New Zealanders who live more than two hours from a base hospital live in the Otago Central Lakes area.
While the plan proposes what it calls three options for future care, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora has only committed to the first of these at this stage.
It is recommending the three proposed options are progressed in order over a five to 10-year period.
Each option depends on the development of the previous one.
The first involves expansion of locally delivered primary, community and outpatient specialist care health services and mental health and addiction services.
The introduction of these improvements is set for 2027/28, but the planning document says committed services are to be defined in each community.
The HNZ board has agreed in principle to spend $25 million in new operating funding for the area from 2027/28, with a further estimated $103 million over the following three years.
The investment will be supported by $52 million in capital funding to upgrade existing facilities, and to modernise digital systems to better connect Otago Central Lakes with specialist services, including the soon-to-be-completed Dunedin outpatient facility.
Mr Brown said one of the first visible changes will be the expansion of Lakes District Hospital’s emergency department, with work beginning there in six to eight months.
The second option involves the vexed question of maternity services, something which has attracted considerable publicity in recent years.
However, HNZ says it is already responding to evidence gathered through the planning process, and it has begun improvements to maternity experiences including to emergency transfers.
The third recommended option involves the establishment of a general hospital in the area. This would connect with other district and regional specialist services to provide comprehensive acute medical and selected low acuity surgical care.
At this stage exploration is continuing on this with no end date in sight.
The plan document says the implementation of what is proposed provides an opportunity to trial an innovative model of care focused around integrated, team-based care.
This means locally delivered care is supported by strong networked connections to base hospitals for specialist advice, virtual consultations, and escalations when required.
Isn’t this the sort of care which has been talked about for years now?
Its implementation, in Central Lakes and elsewhere, is long overdue.
And another thing
The orange bin beckons
Those who want to vote in the Dunedin City Council by-election but whose ballot paper might be doubling as a coaster on the kitchen table or bench need to get their act together.
Voting closes at noon tomorrow in the by-election, which is being contested by 14 candidates, five of whom have previous experience as councillors.
Anyone who has not yet enrolled but believes they are eligible to do so can enrol online up until midnight tonight at vote.nz.
By last Friday only 24.14% of eligible voters had returned their voting papers. Hopefully, that percentage will be up considerably by tomorrow.
