The future of Plunket’s Otago area board is being discussed as part of a national restructuring of the organisation.
The Maniototo Plunket group is thriving but concerned about the impact of any change to the Otago board.
"Maniototo Plunket is a very strong, active and supportive group, with a membership of more than 60 families," group secretary Kate Dowling said this week.
"We have a vital role as the only group in the Maniototo focusing on families and preschoolers and we serve a huge, and isolated, area. We rely on the Otago board for support through guidance, financial and resource assistance and for our treasurer role. We’re still waiting on more information to find out what it will mean for rural Plunket groups like us if the Otago board is dissolved — what options there are for us and what it means for our future," Mrs Dowling said.
The group has called a meeting tomorrow in the Ranfurly St John rooms, starting at 10am, to highlight the issue.
Otago area board president Georgina Dunstan will be there and the proposed governance changes and their impact will be canvassed.
Mrs Dunstan this week declined to discuss the future of the board and referred questions to Plunket’s head office.
Plunket communications head Serene Ambler said there were no plans to close regional offices and no changes were planned to the delivery of services in Otago.
Plunket had 18 area boards responsible for delivering services locally.
However, the structure made it difficult to deliver nationally consistent and co-ordinated services, she said.
"Our aim is a single, cohesive national organisation that guarantees equitable outcomes, with a focus on areas that need it most. This will better ensure that communities have access to the services they need."
Four of the 18 boards — Counties Manukau, Waikato, Lakes (central North Island) and the West Coast — had voluntarily wound up.
The Otago board was discussing its future, she said.
The Maniototo group was part of the Otago board.
Nationally, fewer people were joining Plunket as financial members or wanting to be part of a committee or board.
Instead, people were more interested in volunteering to support the delivery of Plunket community services, she said.
Plunket valued its volunteers and would be consulting with them on how they would like to be involved in the future.
"Plunket has been at the heart of communities for more than a century. It is a challenge modernising an organisation steeped in tradition while remaining true to its soul, but our very survival depends on this to ensure a modern, relevant and responsive Plunket that will be at the heart of the next generation of New Zealanders," Ms Ambler said.
Mrs Dowling said the Maniototo group’s catchment area was vast and included Hyde, Middlemarch, Becks and the Styx.
Its activities included a mother and babies music group, sewing lessons, budgeting for families, swimming lessons and cooking on a budget.
Some of those events were also supported by the Central Otago Rural Education Activities Programme, she said.
"Another thing we do is use our funds for projects like supporting families who are going through hard times and offering practical help, such as cooking them meals."
The wider community, including former Plunket members, were welcome at tomorrow’s meeting, Mrs Dowling said.
No decisions would be made there about the group’s future as it needed time to consider the options and the views of the community "who have invested in Plunket over the years".
Other Maniototo group members were also concerned about the uncertainty over the organisation’s future and the lack of information so far.
