Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network published a report showing a snapshot of rural health across the country.
Using the geographic classification of health developed by University of Otago’s Professor Garry Nixon and his team, based at Dunstan Hospital, in Clyde, the network assessed the state of rural health across the country.
They found rural people were 37% less likely to be admitted to hospital than those living in cities.
"This is considerably different to what is seen in Australia and suggests that rural New Zealanders have poorer access to hospital services," the report said.
If rural residents were admitted as frequently as their city cousins another 5000 hospital beds nationally would be needed, the report showed.
Last week, Central Otago Mayor Tim Cadogan and Queenstown Lakes Mayor Glyn Lewers — whose regions are two of the three fastest-growing regions in the country — jointly wrote to Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora saying both districts were still waiting for "adequate public local healthcare" and asking to start working with them on finding solutions this year.
Mr Lewers said 70% of New Zealanders living two hours or more from a base hospital lived in inland Otago.
"And that’s only counting residents."
In a statement released with the letter, Mr Cadogan said despite councils advocating regularly to the government there had been insufficient progress.
"There has been a long-standing lack of investment in local provision of publicly funded health services, infrastructure, and workforce to meet our districts’ health needs."
The rural health network report found 19%, or 888,654, of New Zealanders lived in rural areas. There was a 50:50 split between male and females in the rural population and about 20% were aged 65 or more.
Suicide rates for men were significantly higher in rural areas where males aged 15-44 were 64% more likely to take their own lives.
Non-Māori aged 30-44 were nearly twice a likely to die from a preventable cause compared with those in urban areas.
Access to emergency and specialist services were also significantly poorer in rural areas. However, the network reported high-quality care for heart attack patients. The outcome being almost exactly the same in both rural and urban areas.
While Dunstan Hospital provided acute medical, rehabilitation, palliative and community healthcare there was no emergency department in Central Otago. Lakes District Hospital, in Frankton, or Dunedin Public Hospital were the closest.
Anyone needing emergency medical care had to ring for an ambulance, which were largely staffed by volunteers. After-hours GP services were available and cost a minimum of $100 a visit for anyone over the age of 14.
Two private Wānaka-based solutions for healthcare had been proposed this year.
In March, plans for a health hub, including day surgery, to be built alongside an existing health centre and age-care centre were announced at a public meeting by land owner James Reid, the family representative and son-in-law of Wānaka health benefactors Peter and Dee Gordon.
There would be a neighbouring 2.4ha section kept aside for a small hospital project in the long term, Mr Reid said.
Earlier this month, investment company Roa announced it would build a $300million 70-bed hospital for Wānaka with four operating theatres and a 24-hour emergency department.
Mr Cadogan has long pushed for an inland hospital in Cromwell which was less than 50 minutes from Alexandra, Wānaka and Queenstown.
After the announcement of the Roa plan for a Wānaka hospital, the question of who would be able to afford the convenience of a hospital closer to home concerned him.
"A centralised hospital that meets the needs of the whole area, bringing both public and private health providers together, is the best way forward, rather than a piecemeal approach across the area that creates pockets of care that may well only be there for those that can afford it, leaving those that can’t continuing to have to travel to Dunedin or Invercargill for the care they need and deserve.
"The time has come for the government to show leadership in making sure that the solution to our hospital needs is for everyone and located in the most practical place."
