Minister says Waimarino health beds will stay

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 593, 4 July 1995, Page 1

Minister says Waimarino health beds will stay

Waimarino Health Centre will re tain its five in-patient beds, Crown Health Enterprise minis ter Paul East has assured the people of the district. On Monday 26 June four membersof the Waimarino Community Health Taskforce headed by the Ruapehu mayor, Carrick Workman, attended an emergency Wanganui District Council meeting. Present were Crown Health Enterprise Minister, Paul East, Wanganui MP Jill Pettis; Waitotara MP and Social Welfare Minister Peter Gresham, Rangitikei mayor John Wilson, outgoing Good Health Wanganui (GHW) chief executive Ron

Janes chairman of the board of GHW Dennis Woods; Central Regional Health Authority (CRHA) chief executive Murray Burns, CRHA director Michael Sewell and the Wanganui councillors along with the Wanganui mayor, Chas Poynter. Despite it being a public meeting it was also a council meeting and public involvement was restricted, said Waimarino representative Justine Adams. She said a presentation by Ron Janes ate considerably into discussion time, with the content of his presentation already well known. "There was quite an emphasis on queries regard-

ing the CHE's intended cuts for the Waimarino. Mr East's information was alarmingly antiquated in that he stated at present Waimarino had a 38-bed capacity and a 10 per cent occupancy rate." Right track She said Mr Workman was then given an opportunity to put Mr East on the right track with regard to actual bed numbers and to outline the community' s total opposition to GHW's plans to cut all inpatient beds whilst giving all the reasons that our current services are essential with regard to the special needs of the Waimarino population. Mr Workman said that as a community Waimarino has done everything right — accepted the

down-sizing from the current health centre capacity and that "we will not budge from our position". This was greeted with much approval from the public present, Wanganui councillors, Mr Poynter, Rangitikei mayor, John Wilson and Mrs Pettis. Mr East replied that he could see no reason why Waimarino could not continue to have its five beds. Mr East had to leave shortly after this to attend another meeting, which was unfortunate as the discussion lasted a further hour, said Ms Adams "I would have been interested in hearing a reply from Mr East as to his emphasis recently on "more home based community care"," said Ms Adams. "It could be said that this is only a nice-sounding front for more inappropriate, increased demands on family members and unpaid caregivers." "The mayor, Dorothy Scarrow, Jenny Dekker and I had a limited opportunity when the meeting closed to further impress on the CRHA representatives, Mrs Pettis and Mr Gresham, the special needs of the area; the need for equity of access and our geographical and climatic situation." Murray Burns stated the Core Services Committee has almost completed a rural health policy with a sub-regional paper which is due for release. He stressed its non-finalisation. "We must strengthen our community's input into these policy papers," said Ms Adams. Alternatives Mr Workman reported to the Ruapehu District Council at their meeting last Friday on the meeting in Wanganui. He told councillors that he had made it "very clear indeed that the proposed cuts to services in the Waimarino were absolutely not acceptable and no further compromise would be tolerated". "No further concessions will be entertained and if necessary we will look at other alternatives including setting up a community trust or a GP (general practitioner) run health centre." He told councillors that the rural health policy and sub-regional paper, together with a business plan prepared by Mr Janes had been put forward for consideration by the CRHA but its contents could not be divulged until the contract between GHW and CRHA had been finalised. "We must now wait until that contract is signed ... there's nothing much we can do

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