Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. Photo: RNZ
After-hours care needs to have safe staffing
As one who worked as a general practitioner for over 40 years it was concerning to read (ODT 5.8.24) that the proposed 11pm-8am after-hours service to be established in Wānaka will have "just one staff member on site" during those hours.
Some practical questions immediately come to mind.
If a patient comes to be seen with symptoms caused by a heart attack and suffers a cardiac arrest there how will the clinician call for help while providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation?
Or if they arrive while another consultation is in progress how will their collapse in the waiting room even be noticed?
Spontaneous violence isn’t unknown in Wānaka — who will call for help if the clinician is attacked in the middle of the night?
At the very least a receptionist should be on site as well as the clinician. Anything less will be criminal negligence by Central Otago Health Service Ltd and Health NZ.
Tony Fitchett
Liberton
Truth matters
I refer to your Reuters headline "Is she Indian or is she black?" (ODT 2.8.24).
This piece then goes on to state "Trump falsely suggested", then further on in the same article is "Trump's false statements.
This is not journalism, it is opinion and I am gobsmacked that such a story is touted as news.
What has happened to the independent unbiased reporters who used to contribute real news stories without their personal opinions creeping in?
Denise Cameron
Palmerston
[Reuters is a trusted source of accurate world news. Its Trust Principles require it to be an unbiased and reliable news service. As such, it has a rigorous fact-checking department, which examined Kamala Harris’ background in 2020 and again last week after Mr Trump’s comments about her identifying as black or otherwise. Reuters concluded that Ms Harris had long publicly identified as both black and South Asian American. Reuters routinely notes in its copy if statements made by public figures are inaccurate. Editor.]
Economic issues
It often bothers me that we in what we call the West are in a bit of a funk with our economic system and its side effects.
Ironically it turns out our private equity economic system not only turns everyone into its virtual slaves but thanks to modern electronics it is also uncontrollable, horrifically wasteful and basically make the future impossible to prepare for, leaving our younger generations and our sun-setting generations in an emotional funk.
Maybe a new US president will try and turn the ship around?
But it will be a global human effort to pull off such as task; there are some tweaks to help get us on the way to fix things, like more co-operatives and less corporations, less private equity in elections.
I believe the guys at Amazon discovered that if you hook the old Soviet command economy up to modern computer systems it works like a dream, whereas you hook unfettered private equity up to powerful computers you end up feeling like the world is literally falling apart. Go figure.
Aaron Nicholson
Manapouri
Woolly-mouthed explanations do not wash
When direct questions regarding any health services are presented to Dr Shane Reti, Minister for Health, he either prevaricates or obfuscates. This is shameful.
Woolly-mouthed explanations or avoidance of any explanation, other than rolled-out phrases, designed to confuse or placate, are not acceptable to a situation that is becoming increasingly dire in all areas of our health services.
Lack of trained staff, insufficient wages, stressed nurses and doctors and other essential health providers unable to cope because of radical cuts and changes by this government has been a disaster.
Those needing these services have lost faith. The arrogant attitude that pervades this government, such as rejecting practical solutions from Otago and Auckland Universities, including the recent offer to train up 300 additional doctors annually at lower cost than the Waikato proposal for a new pie-in-the sky medical school in 2027 is just blindly stubborn, because "the ball was already rolling" from Dr Reti.
And no clear affirmation of our Dunedin hospital being "built as promised" by Mr Luxon and Dr Reti.
How can voters and health staff believe anything the National government say? Did they think Ms Willis' "tax cut" would appease any shortfalls following?
Put the funding where it is urgently needed National, and stop congratulating yourselves.
You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
Pamela Ritchie
Caversham
