The Rural Otago Primary Health Organisation will continue to fund diabetes nurses and woolshed health clinics, even though the organisation will soon cease to exist.
It covers Central Otago, North Otago and the upper Clutha. The board held its last annual meeting yesterday. It is one of nine PHOs in Otago and Southland that have merged to become the Southern PHO and it plans to wind up by the end of June.
Rural Otago PHO chairman Stuart Heal said the annual meeting was later than expected due to the delayed transfer of assets to the Southern PHO.
He congratulated board member Mary Flannery on her election to the Southern District Health Board and said it was good to have Carolyn Martin and Tony Wood on the Southern PHO's community advisory board.
"It's really important ... to have a rural voice being heard, " he said.
Mr Wood presented the Rural Otago PHO's financial statement and said there was a small surplus for the year of just over $40,000.
"We had a strong and vibrant PHO at the time of the changes which were forced upon us," he said.
Mr Heal said $150,000 had been set aside for winding up the organisation. Any leftover funds would go to the Southern PHO, tagged for use in Central and North Otago.
The Rural Otago PHO had already allocated funds to continue two initiatives in its district for another year or two.
Funding of $60,000 had been set aside for the diabetes nurse role in Central Otago, $45,000 for a similar role in North Otago and $35,000 for Uruuruwhenua Health to continue woolshed health clinics in Central Otago.
Those projects had not been "picked up" by the Southern PHO, he said.
Diabetes Otago president Mervyn Wilson welcomed the news the diabetes roles would continue.
"They're a pre-emptive measure and we getter better results both in education and control, and less major complications, because of dedicated staff in the community in these roles," he said.
