Group shows confidence in hospital plan
The Otago Central Lakes Health Services Project steering group issued a statement yesterday saying Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) was "prioritising" work on a clinical services plan for the region that would "clear the way" for a new hospital in the region.
"It could be New Zealand's first large privately owned and publicly operated hospital," the statement said.
HNZ did not respond to questions yesterday.
However, the steering group — comprising Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers, Waitaki MP Miles Anderson, Act New Zealand MP Todd Stephenson, of Queenstown, Southland MP Joseph Mooney and Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley — said it had a "positive meeting" with Health Minister Simeon Brown recently.
Mr Mooney said the public-private partnership the steering group was pursuing was not yet a done deal — nor would a new hospital, in Queenstown, affect the status of the new Dunedin hospital as the region's tertiary hospital.
"I guess there are no done deals — a lot of work has been done to get to this point and a lot more needs to be done," the National Party MP said.
"It is arguably the farthest the region has got for a decade to getting a significant change to health services.
"It will improve Central Lakes health, and it is also going to improve health services across the entire region because of the pressure of this fast-growing population.
"Visitor numbers to Central Otago push a lot of people down to those base hospitals."
He said HNZ had agreed to use "more accurate" council-derived population projections for its planning, instead of Stats NZ figures.
Mr Mooney said the government statistics were off and "it would be silly" to model from inaccurate numbers.
Stats NZ suggested the population was growing at 1.5% a year, when council statistics were closer to 6%, he said.
Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown was built in 1988 to cater for 4500 people.
The current combined resident-only Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts' population is 78,400.
In 2024, Queenstown had a peak day population, including visitors, of 168,353.
Peak day population is projected to be 303,628 by 2054.
The update on the health project work came in the wake of a regional deal announcement for the area. At the start of the month, the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago district councils, along with the Otago Regional Council, won the right to negotiate a new 10-year partnership with central government designed to progress shared priorities.
Yesterday's statement noted the regional deal proposal included health as a cornerstone.
It said a hospital in Queenstown — "built and financed by a private investor from which public services can be delivered by HNZ" — was in the planning stage.
It also touted private surgical hospitals for both Queenstown and Wanaka.
Mr Lewers said investing in health in the area was a long time coming.
"Until recently, despite our growth, Health NZ had no plans for expansion in our area.
"We're finally on their radar."
The hospital would work alongside current or planned private providers in Alexandra, Clyde, Cromwell, Wānaka and Queenstown, which, Mr Mooney said, would be co-ordinated.
"We would start mapping and talking to what services already exist across all those centres."
The statement from the steering group said decades of under-investment in health services and infrastructure in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts had led to problems when seeking speciality and emergency healthcare.
Many patients in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago had to make a six-hour return drive for their healthcare.
Last year, there were 300 helicopter transfers from Lakes District Hospital costing $6.3 million, it said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
9 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Cost-of-living crisis hits harder in winter
The inevitable post-storm clean-up can be a lengthy process, involving hours of physical work and paperwork. Fortunately, for most of us, such disruptions are overcome and life continues. But for many Kiwi kids not having a warm, dry bed is a permanent reality. According to children's charity Variety, about one in 10 children in New Zealand do not have a safe, warm bed. Beds and bedding are a basic need. Indeed, in a country as wealthy as ours, they should be considered a right. It was recently reported more than 200 Northland children are at risk of developing serious illnesses caused by inadequate bedding, sleeping in overcrowded, poorly insulated houses and sleeping on the floor on mouldy mattresses. According to Variety chief executive Susan Glasgow, bed poverty and material deprivation in Te Tai Tokerau were major concerns. 'Every day we hear pleas for help from parents desperate to get their children off the floor, a mouldy mattress or a sofa, and into a bed of their own,' she told NZME. According to Stats NZ, 156,600 kids live in poverty, with many sleeping in cold, damp bedrooms. Apart from the obvious consequences of not having somewhere to sleep, the health impacts have far-reaching consequences. Children sleeping in crowded, unhealthy, mouldy beds are more likely to have illnesses such as strep throat, bronchiolitis and whooping cough during winter, Glasgow said. They could also develop rheumatic fever, which can cause permanent heart damage. According to Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, there were five new cases of acute rheumatic fever in Northland in 2023, seven in 2024, and as of earlier this month, four so far this year. Since 2018, the Government has had to report on progress towards child poverty targets. In February, the latest figures for the year to June 2024 showed none of the three primary child poverty reduction targets had been met. As the cost-of-living crisis continues to hurt Kiwi families and the economy remains sluggish, it is hard to see how things will improve for our tamariki (children). But things must change, as a good start in life is the least the nation's youngsters deserve. Healthy children can develop into extraordinary adults. Every year, Variety runs its Beds for Kids Winter Appeal to fight bed poverty. In a country that prides itself on being progressive in so many ways, it is a shame we have the need for an appeal such as this. Every child deserves a warm, safe bed. Sign up to the Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
9 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Labour ponders free tests as Government struggles with slow path to cervical cancer elimination
A report, obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act, noted that screening rates had fallen across the board during the pandemic, with the national rate of people up-to-date with their screening falling from 71.2% in October 2019 to 67.4% in October 2023. Slowly, screening rates have climbed, including among Māori, Pacific and Asian women, whose screening rates have tended to be below the national average. Rates of screening for Māori women only exceeded 2019 levels earlier this year. The report said that recovering screening rates were largely the result of new HPV self-tests. Of the 450,000 HPV primary screens completed between the rollout of HPV primary screening in September 2023 and October 2024, 81% were self-tests, the report said. Every three years, the Health Minister must appoint a Parliamentary Review Committee (which despite the name, does not include MPs) to review the National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP). The figures in this story were included in a briefing Brown received in October on the progress Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora was making towards the 31 recommendations made by the 2021-2023 committee. The briefing warned that the recommendations were 'highly ambitious and unfunded' and made during a time of 'tight fiscal settings'. Officials produced a traffic-light chart of all 31 recommendations, charting which ones were tracking to plan and which were not, rating them green to red for their deliverability. One recommendation that had been 'orange – paused' was 'considering options for the development of an elimination strategy' for the cancer. Brown said this had been started again. 'The Ministry of Health is leading the development of a cervical cancer elimination plan in partnership with the Cancer Control Agency,' he said. The only recommendation to be given a 'red – critical' rating was the recommendation to roll out free screening to all populations. 'Funding has not yet been secured for all population to receive free cervical screening in NZ,' the paper said. In 2023, the then Labour Government rolled out a new HPV test which could be self-administered. HPV causes over 95% of cervical cancers. This was accompanied by $7.3m to pay for free tests for some populations. The ability to self-test is meant to appeal to people who felt uncomfortable with the likes of a smear test, which are administered by someone else. Verrall said the cervical cancer screening programme was 'the only national screening programme where people are expected to pay for access'. 'Women might well ask, if I'm screening myself now, why do I have to pay?' she said. While some providers offered the service for free, others did not and required a co-payment or similar charge. Verrall said the test can be delivered in a diverse range of settings, allowing eligibility for free tests to be widened further. 'People who have the lowest participation and screening are those who sometimes struggle to pay,' she said.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Group shows confidence in hospital plan
A privately owned public hospital for the Central Otago-Queenstown Lakes area is not quite a done deal — but one might be forgiven for thinking so after a show of confidence from southern leaders. The Otago Central Lakes Health Services Project steering group issued a statement yesterday saying Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) was "prioritising" work on a clinical services plan for the region that would "clear the way" for a new hospital in the region. "It could be New Zealand's first large privately owned and publicly operated hospital," the statement said. HNZ did not respond to questions yesterday. However, the steering group — comprising Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers, Waitaki MP Miles Anderson, Act New Zealand MP Todd Stephenson, of Queenstown, Southland MP Joseph Mooney and Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley — said it had a "positive meeting" with Health Minister Simeon Brown recently. Mr Mooney said the public-private partnership the steering group was pursuing was not yet a done deal — nor would a new hospital, in Queenstown, affect the status of the new Dunedin hospital as the region's tertiary hospital. "I guess there are no done deals — a lot of work has been done to get to this point and a lot more needs to be done," the National Party MP said. "It is arguably the farthest the region has got for a decade to getting a significant change to health services. "It will improve Central Lakes health, and it is also going to improve health services across the entire region because of the pressure of this fast-growing population. "Visitor numbers to Central Otago push a lot of people down to those base hospitals." He said HNZ had agreed to use "more accurate" council-derived population projections for its planning, instead of Stats NZ figures. Mr Mooney said the government statistics were off and "it would be silly" to model from inaccurate numbers. Stats NZ suggested the population was growing at 1.5% a year, when council statistics were closer to 6%, he said. Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown was built in 1988 to cater for 4500 people. The current combined resident-only Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts' population is 78,400. In 2024, Queenstown had a peak day population, including visitors, of 168,353. Peak day population is projected to be 303,628 by 2054. The update on the health project work came in the wake of a regional deal announcement for the area. At the start of the month, the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago district councils, along with the Otago Regional Council, won the right to negotiate a new 10-year partnership with central government designed to progress shared priorities. Yesterday's statement noted the regional deal proposal included health as a cornerstone. It said a hospital in Queenstown — "built and financed by a private investor from which public services can be delivered by HNZ" — was in the planning stage. It also touted private surgical hospitals for both Queenstown and Wanaka. Mr Lewers said investing in health in the area was a long time coming. "Until recently, despite our growth, Health NZ had no plans for expansion in our area. "We're finally on their radar." The hospital would work alongside current or planned private providers in Alexandra, Clyde, Cromwell, Wānaka and Queenstown, which, Mr Mooney said, would be co-ordinated. "We would start mapping and talking to what services already exist across all those centres." The statement from the steering group said decades of under-investment in health services and infrastructure in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts had led to problems when seeking speciality and emergency healthcare. Many patients in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago had to make a six-hour return drive for their healthcare. Last year, there were 300 helicopter transfers from Lakes District Hospital costing $6.3 million, it said.
