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Thousands of patients will be affected by cutbacks to frontline hospital services dictated by the Government, Labour says.
Health Minister Tony Ryall faced tough questioning in Parliament yesterday about plans to close wards at weekends and limit access to emergency departments at some health boards.
Labour's health spokeswoman, Ruth Dyson, said MidCentral, Whanganui, South Canterbury, Southland, Otago, Tairawhiti and Taranaki district health boards have all signalled cuts to services.
"We're talking about frontline services and frontline jobs that are going," she told The Dominion Post.
"This is the opposite of what National promised, but Tony Ryall is washing his hands of it and wants nothing to do with it."
Regions facing cuts include:
* Mid-Central: must cut $10 million from budget. Job losses are predicted.
* Whanganui: closing wards at weekends to save on overtime wages.
* Taranaki: preparing for hospital cutbacks.
* South Canterbury: reducing the number of patients seen in emergency departments by up to 5000 and axing up to 200 elective operations a year; cutting radiology services.
* Southland and Otago: cutting home support services to save $10m.
Ms Dyson said the regional cuts were in addition to "savings" the minister had made by scrapping the nationally funded Let's Get Checked diabetes scheme, and tobacco control and cardiovascular programmes.
"National has been quietly cutting frontline health services since coming to office eight months ago and there is much more to come."
Senior hospital doctors have also expressed concerns about plans to transfer some hospital services to primary care to cut costs.
Ian Powell, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director, said the plan had "serious risks of clinically inappropriate and fiscally questionable transfers".
As more health boards had their annual plans signed off, more regions could expect to see frontline health services slashed, Ms Dyson said.
Capital and Coast District Health Board has ended its financial year with a deficit of $66m $13.5m more than budgeted after it was unable to sell surplus land at Kenepuru Hospital, worth more than $16m.
Mr Ryall has hit back at critics of the frontline hospital cuts, saying the Government's focus was on improving services for patients "in the middle of the worst recession since the 1930s" and that it continued to invest heavily in health.
"Health boards are making decisions with increased funding and ... endeavouring to do the best they can within the generous improved financial resources that we provided in this year's Budget," he said.
"This Government is determined there will be improved frontline services.
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"You simply can't have a situation in which over the past nine years the budget has doubled but fewer people got operations."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/2724339/Ryall-defends-hospital-cuts
This news has been very hush hush in the media. Cutbacks in public hospitals, yet $35 million just like that to private schools. Priorities?
Health Minister Tony Ryall faced tough questioning in Parliament yesterday about plans to close wards at weekends and limit access to emergency departments at some health boards.
Labour's health spokeswoman, Ruth Dyson, said MidCentral, Whanganui, South Canterbury, Southland, Otago, Tairawhiti and Taranaki district health boards have all signalled cuts to services.
"We're talking about frontline services and frontline jobs that are going," she told The Dominion Post.
"This is the opposite of what National promised, but Tony Ryall is washing his hands of it and wants nothing to do with it."
Regions facing cuts include:
* Mid-Central: must cut $10 million from budget. Job losses are predicted.
* Whanganui: closing wards at weekends to save on overtime wages.
* Taranaki: preparing for hospital cutbacks.
* South Canterbury: reducing the number of patients seen in emergency departments by up to 5000 and axing up to 200 elective operations a year; cutting radiology services.
* Southland and Otago: cutting home support services to save $10m.
Ms Dyson said the regional cuts were in addition to "savings" the minister had made by scrapping the nationally funded Let's Get Checked diabetes scheme, and tobacco control and cardiovascular programmes.
"National has been quietly cutting frontline health services since coming to office eight months ago and there is much more to come."
Senior hospital doctors have also expressed concerns about plans to transfer some hospital services to primary care to cut costs.
Ian Powell, Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director, said the plan had "serious risks of clinically inappropriate and fiscally questionable transfers".
As more health boards had their annual plans signed off, more regions could expect to see frontline health services slashed, Ms Dyson said.
Capital and Coast District Health Board has ended its financial year with a deficit of $66m $13.5m more than budgeted after it was unable to sell surplus land at Kenepuru Hospital, worth more than $16m.
Mr Ryall has hit back at critics of the frontline hospital cuts, saying the Government's focus was on improving services for patients "in the middle of the worst recession since the 1930s" and that it continued to invest heavily in health.
"Health boards are making decisions with increased funding and ... endeavouring to do the best they can within the generous improved financial resources that we provided in this year's Budget," he said.
"This Government is determined there will be improved frontline services.
Ad Feedback
"You simply can't have a situation in which over the past nine years the budget has doubled but fewer people got operations."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/2724339/Ryall-defends-hospital-cuts
This news has been very hush hush in the media. Cutbacks in public hospitals, yet $35 million just like that to private schools. Priorities?
