Wānaka residents grill government ministers over healthcare shortfalls

Katie Todd, Otago/Southland reporter

Wānaka residents have pressed government ministers and health chiefs for answers on why they are paying for blood tests, travelling to Dunedin for basic scans and waiting months for children to see psychiatrists, at a packed public meeting in the Otago town.

About 300 people squeezed into the Lake Wānaka Centre for the third stop on a rural health roadshow with Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey, Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson and representatives from Health NZ.

Local residents and health providers waited with raised hands for a turn on the microphone - demanding commitment to the needs of their communities, and "actual, physical, on the frontline, where-the-people-are funding."

Residents had been encouraged to speak up by advocacy group Health Action Wānaka, which has been calling for urgent improvements to health services in the Upper Clutha.

Earlier this year, it released a report that showed significant service shortfalls, systemic barriers and inequity in accessing healthcare.

Spokesperson Monique Mayze said it was time for officials to enact meaningful, positive change.

"The ministers need to hear from people how the decisions the make are affecting lives. We've heard so many stories from people in our community over the past 12 months about the terrible inequity they've faced, the challenges they've had when trying to access health services and having to travel vast distances to access healthcare that should be available locally," she said.

"The time has come for action. We've had enough words now."

 

Matt Doocey pledged that Health NZ would carry out an assessment of the Upper Clutha and Queenstown Lakes health inequities and create a plan to address them by the end of the year.

"Just going and saying 'we want to put a lot of money into this' and spraying it around, will not work. We want to have very clear plans that show we understand what the problems are in your community, and then you will know what we've listened to," he said.

Ahead of the public session, Health Action Wānaka also had a private meeting with the officials, and handed a three part-wishlist to Health Minister Simeon Brown in Auckland.

They were seeking commitment to three "quick wins" - publicly funded blood collection service in Wānaka within two years, psychiatric consultations via telehealth within one year and better local access to publicly funded radiology.

Group spokesperson Trish Fraser said ministers appeared receptive to their ideas, which she described as a positive outcome.

"We have done a lot of work with our research, our report. And [health officials] are taking seriously our work, which is great. But we want to see things happen...it's really time for action."