Health bodies quiet over meetings

George Berry
George Berry
The Southern District Health Board and Waitaki District Health Services are remaining tight-lipped about meetings in Oamaru today.

Last month, WDHS chairman George Berry suggested the long-running funding dispute between the health services trust and the health board could end when SDHB offered a contract that did not contain the 5% funding cut the trust had opposed.

Last week, SDHB planning and funding director Sandra Boardman told the Otago Daily Times health board commissioner Kathy Grant would be in Oamaru today to meet Mr Berry, local general practitioners and to tour the mobile surgical bus.

Mrs Boardman said it would be inappropriate to discuss what was on the agenda for the meeting "during contract negotiations''.

In November, Mr Berry said WDHS had accepted a two-year offer, but with "qualifications'' that he was not able to discuss.

Approached yesterday, Mr Berry said he could not speak about the negotiations.

"When we're in a position to do a media release on our situation we will,'' he said.

Mrs Boardman also declined to talk about the nature of a December 3 meeting, when Mrs Grant, a SDHB deputy commissioner, the SDHB chief executive and other managers met the chief executives of all the rural health trusts and chairmen of the Central Otago, Gore, Maniototo and Clutha trusts.

Mr Berry gave an apology for that meeting.

She would not say whether there had been any progress on negotiations with WDHS since November or whether she believed the dispute would be resolved soon.

Earlier this year, SDHB sparked a public outcry when it tried to cut 5% from the budgets of Otago's rural hospitals.

In July, about 2500 people marched in Oamaru in protest over the cuts.

Waitaki is the last of five rural hospitals to renew its terms with the health board.

Mrs Boardman said a contract in place with the WDHS since 2014 was scheduled to end in June 2017.

hamish.maclean@odt.co.nz

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