Media release from Labour Health spokesperson Ruth Dyson

A conservative stock take of health services shows that 80 frontline patient services have been cut by the National Government since it came into office, Labour Health spokesperson Ruth Dyson says.

"The speed and number of cutbacks, which include denying elderly home-help, means that the Minister of Health Tony Ryall is now agreeing for DHBs to cut at least four patient services every month," Ruth Dyson says.

"Clearly the National Government does not have improving the health of Kiwis as one of its top priorities. Mental health services, public health programmes tackling obesity and diabetes and district nursing services in the central North Island are among the 'low priority' areas that National has cut back.

"Every week in Parliament Tony Ryall stands up and tells New Zealanders he is delivering more elective surgery. Labour supports an increase in elective surgery, but the Minister needs to be honest with New Zealanders and tell them he is cutting patient services in other areas.

"Eighty frontline service cutbacks is simply shocking. New Zealanders did not vote for frontline health cuts and yet that is exactly what the Minister has delivered.

"In opposition Mr Ryall told the public that every decision to change services was the responsibility of the Minister, but now as Minister of Health he has publicly washed his hands of the cutbacks he is allowing.

"Mr Ryall has told the public that there are no cutbacks, just 'changes'.
"It is simply astounding the Mr Ryall is boasting about record spending in health while agreeing to record cutbacks in the health sector.

"Record spending should mean no cuts to health services. Mr Ryall has no excuses to cut services.
"The reality is National is not focussed on improving the health of New Zealanders through health promotion or primary health. This omission will lead to more expensive health treatments in the long run.

"In the past few weeks we have learned of a case where a man was denied home help, only to collapse in his home and as a result being admitted to hospital for several days.

"The total cost of his hospital stay would have been several thousand dollars. The total saving to the Government by denying him home help was $30 a week.

"It makes no sense that the Government would rather have elderly in hospital or resthomes, than spend $30 a week supporting them in their own homes

"The Labour Party will continue to monitor the cutbacks in health and will be regularly releasing a list of updated health cuts," Ruth Dyson said.

Contact: Ruth Dyson 027 446 1674

Health Cuts since coming to office - by month

March 2009

Taranaki DHB has publicly signalled that its hospital is preparing for cut backs. "Health Services get the knife" Taranaki Daily News 10/03/09

Breast Bus cancelled Westport women would have to travel for 90 minutes and Karamea women doubke that distance.  U turn because of political pressure  The News-Westport 23/3/09

Southland and Otago DHBs have confirmed they are cutting home support services to reduce costs. The Boards were looking to make savings of up to $10 million by reducing home support services for elderly. Southland Times 22/04/09

May 2009

Cut anti obesity, oral health and mental health targets. Ministerial release 8/05/09
National have taken $2.3 million out of cancer control. Budget 2009

Slashed the diabetes 'let's get checked' budget by $4.8 million each year. Budget 2009

Cut $3 million from the cardiovascular disease budget. Budget 2009

Mental Health services have also had their funding cut. Budget 2009

June 2009

Whanganui DHB has said it will be closing hospital wards on weekends to save money on nursing overtime. " Hospital looks to close wards at weekends" Wanganui Chronicle 26 /06/09

Post budget Treasury documents show that primary health and health promotion services that target specific health conditions have had funding cuts of $37 million this year.

Tony Ryall this year signed off on a 6.5 percent increase in GP fees the largest increase since fees came in. NZ Herald 03/06/09

The Fruit in Schools programme which currently provides 100,000 children with fresh fruit each day is under threat. Herald on Sunday 14/06/09

Mid Central DHB makes cuts $10 million cuts Manawatu Standard

July 2009

Timaru Hospital to cut services In the coming year the emergency department will attempt to cut patient numbers by around 5000, and radiology services will be reduced by 10 per cent, which would potentially affect 2400 examinations. The emergency department cut will mean more work for GPs as patients are directed back to primary care.  SCDHB has also signalled that it is looking to reduce the number of patients using radiology services. The DHB also confirmed that it would be axing up to 200 elective operations per year because of a cut in Government funding.  Timaru Herald 30/07/09

August 2009

Cuts to elderly care in South Canterbury The Timaru Herald 30/07/09

Sport fit coordinator jobs at risk as Govt redirects money from anti obesity programmes

Senior Doctors question Ministerial Health Review.ASMS release 16/08/09

Waikato DHB has frozen clinician jobs as well as admin.The Board agreed to a $20 million savings drive for the 2009/10 financial year in the hope of achieving at least a $10 million surplus. The exact list of targeted activities had not been made public because some of them may not be valid savings targets, Mr Climo said. Big cuts ahead at Waikato District Health Board Waikato Times 26/08/09

Dunstan Hospital reduces community physio and disability home support Southland Times 17/08/09

WDHB would like to cut at least $200,000 out of the WCPHO contract.  This equates to 42% of the discretionary money that the WDHB fund.The board asked why the WDHB hadn't told the WCPHO during the Clinical Services Action Plan process.  The cuts have come out of the blue. The board were very unhappy with the process.There has yet to be any discussion regarding the devolution of services from primary to secondary.Wairarapa Community PHO Board Meeting Minutes 27/08/09

Dannevirke outpatients clinic cut Manawatu Standard

Counties Manukau has cut funding to external contractors. The cuts include two Maori health programmes and Auckland University's $200,000-a-year evaluations of the board's five-year, $10 million scheme to reduce the incidence of type 2 diabetes. NZ Herald

September 2009

$2million cut in mental health services Nelson Mental health funding on chopping block Nelson Mail

Waitakere Hospital's emergency department is only open between 8am and 6.30pm and free A& E vouchers to White Cross are axed Sept 2009

October 2009

TDH services at risk A total shift in the way healthcare was delivered was necessary to maintain frontline services and elective surgeries as well as reach $2 million in savings by the end of the financial year, the TDH board heard at their monthly meeting."The public needs to know so things don't come as a shock to them when we are cutting back on some services," said Board member Craig Bauld. Tairawhiti DHB announces it will stop surgery for an unprecedented 6 week period over Christmas and New Year to save money Gisborne Herald 2/11/09

Home support cuts for elderly in Canterbury.  'Old man offers to wash his shower with his foot' ChCh Press

November 2009

ACC refuses to pay for wheelchair for Taranaki amputee who is told to go and ask the local DHB for funding Taranaki Daily News

A total of 12.5 nursing positions chopped across the Palmerston North hospital's main surgical, medical and child health wards, neonates, coronary care, intensive care and the high dependency unit. Manawatu Standard

Auckland DHB Board papers reveal Board may have to cut as much as 5%-10%. ADHB may have $150m less. Planning and Funding officer says when adjusted for inflation "the funding for next year is like to be less than this year" NZ Herald Big Health Cuts on the way

Rural maternity stays for the chop The time new mums spend at rural maternity homes in Southland could be slashed as the Southland District Health Board proposes to cut funding.
A document leaked to The Southland Times shows the Southland District Health Board is proposing to cut funding by 30 per cent to the Winton Maternity Centre, run by the Central Southland Hospital Trust. Southland 04/11/09

December 2009

Survey shows spending down on GP visits, surgery and sports.  Research commissioned by Southern Cross shows Results found the number of people who visited their GP when they felt unwell fell from 64 per cent in 2008 to 56 per cent this year. Also, the number of people actively participating in sports, going to the gym, and dieting for weight loss decreased significantly. NZ Herald 03/12/09

Senior doctors voted overwhelmingly last Friday to focus on achieving a pathway to competitive terms and conditions of employment in our national collective agreement negotiations with district health boards next year in order to help overcome the detrimental effects of our medical workforce crisis  ASMS release  06 /12/09

Release of Cabinet Paper on ACC legislation confirms no analysis done bon impact of Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation Bill changes for the Health system or the social welfare system - cost shifting surgery onto health.

Hospital turning away patients. Central Medical GP Steve Dawson said 49 of his practice clients received letters saying specialists at Oamaru Hospital could not see them last week.The only options we have is to re-refer them, suggest they use the private health system, or attempt to treat them ourselves. Oamaru Mail 15/12/09

January 2010

Hospitals propose preferential treatment for those who can pay NZ Herald 25/01/10

Cut up to 50 docs - hospital's secret report A secret razor gang of health board managers, Health Ministry officials and external consultants advises cutting up to 50 doctors and outsourcing some specialties to solve Capital and Coast's financial woes. A draft of a confidential report leaked to The Dominion Post shows Capital and Coast's deficit is set to balloon to $48.4 million by 2009-10 unless urgent action is taken to address the underlying causes. Dominion Post 01/01/09

Mary Bourke DHB Board Member candid on ACC squeeze "So effectively, madam chair, what we are talking about here is that ACC is trying to cut down on its costs by shoving its responsibilities on to someone else?" Yes, came the answer. Taranaki Daily News 27/01/10

Assessment cuts help for elderly. More than 1200 Canterbury elderly have had their home-help hours cut or reduced since a new assessment service began five months ago. ChCh Press 27/01/10

Phone assessments result in less aid At least 40 people between 80-90 have hours cut (Kapiti) Dominion Post 30/01/10

Dispute halts kids' B4 school checks Free before-school health checks for 4-year-olds in the Western Bay will not be operated by the region's primary health organisation from next month following a funding dispute. The impact of failing to continue the checks would mean the health of children starting school would be compromised, Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation has warned.Bay of Plenty Times 30/01/10

Iwi lead charge against hospital mortuary closure. Health board chief operating officer Phillip Balmer last month said the mortuary was being closed because it cost too much - about $2.5 million - to upgrade.Bay of Plenty Times 13/01/10

February 2010

Nephew takes on fight over home help cuts - The nephew of an 86-year-old stroke victim has battled to regain her home help after the service was slashed over the phone.  Wainuiomata reports 35 cuts and loss of service viability Dominion Post 8/02/10  

Wellington Hospital trims 49 management roles. Doctors and nurses who hold management roles are among nearly 50 staff at Wellington Hospital waiting to hear if they have lost their jobs.  Ian Powell, director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the senior doctors' union, said that, although no clinical staff were being cut, he was worried the changes could make their jobs harder. "Most of the time those so-called back-room positions actually help clinicians to do their work."  Dominion Post 8/02/10

North health bodies face axe Te Tai Tokerau chief executive Rose Lightfoot said PHOs were vital in improving access to health services in Northland, but it may be that there were too many. Ms Lightfoot said PHOs were already pretty careful with their money, costs and efficiencies. "But we hear the message that's coming from the minister. Northland is also different, because it's very large and spread out and the minister needs to consider our special needs." Northern Advocate 10/02/10

Work Disrupted: Two weeks of industrial action by specialists starts tomorrow. Hawke's Bay Hospital is bracing for two weeks without radiology services with the union for 40 local staff members announcing they will strike in protest of a wage freeze. Hawkes Bay 25/02/10  

March 2010

By Elspeth McLean and Eileen Goodwin on Tue, Otago Daily Times 16/03/10 Otago faces a "massive wave" of elderly needing rest-home space that might not be available, if cost-cutting forces rest-homes out of business, New Zealand Aged Care Association board member Malcolm Hendry says.

Proposal to cut 24 beds from Horowhenua Health Centre DHB Board Minutes

10 surgical beds closed at MidCentral DHB DHB Board Minutes

Tangimoana residents fume over nurse cuts Clinic hours have been cut from 20 to eight hours, while opening days dropped from six to two a week, following a Primary Health Organisation (PHO) review. Manawatu Standard 17/03/2010

Proposal to limit SuperGold Card travel entitlements. For elderly these free public transport entitlements make it easier for them to get to hospital appointments.

Health cuts 'hitting the front line' Some of Canterbury's front-line health services are being axed, a Christchurch health manager says. Union and Community Health Service manager Genelle Gordon said the service was recently forced to close its central city clinic and make two staff redundant. It was expecting further cuts to its services.ChCh Press 23/03/10

Christchurch's free youth health drop-in centre will close next month amid fears some of the city's most vulnerable young people will fall outside the system.  The 198 Youth Health Centre provides free doctors, nurses and counsellors for under-25s. Declining Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) funding meant the centre could no longer operate.  Centre director Sue Bagshaw said yesterday that despite the "disgusting" lack of funding, she would reopen a similar service as soon as possible. ChCh Press 06/03/10  

Managers' jobs face cut in DHB shake-up Cash-strapped Wairarapa District Health Board plans to axe the equivalent of about 10 management jobs in a bid to slash costs while throwing more money toward frontline clinicians. ''The cost of service delivery is outstripping the funding we receive.''Wairarapa Times Age 27/03/10

Funding cuts will hurt Men for Change. I would like to express my distress at the decision by Tairawhiti District Health (TDH) to cut funding for Men for Change. Men for Change is an organisation that helps men break the cycle of violence, walk away, have time out and learn new skills to cope with what is causing the violence. Gisborne Herald 31/03/10  

TURANGA Health says it will lose 15 staff and $400,000 in revenue after Tairawhiti District Health Board chose an Auckland organisation to work with mental health patients in the community.The move is a "kick in the guts" to Turanga Health, who had provided mental health services in Gisborne for 13 years, says chief executive Reweti Ropiha."We eat and breathe local. We are not going anywhere over the next 10 to 15 years, our loyalties are to Gisborne . . . we are bitterly disappointed with the board's decision," he said. Gisborne Herald 24/03/10

Mental health services under the knife in bid to save millions The sudden closure of a highly regarded recovery centre for vulnerable teens and young adults in Auckland has been blamed on funding uncertainty, although critics maintain the decision to close the Mind Matters Trust house in Titirangi was a panic response.In Wellington, the Capital and Coast District Health Board has signalled cuts for mental health services in the new financial year in a bid to trim $10 million from its community spending. Agencies are considering severe staffing and service cuts.In Christchurch, the planned closure of the 198 Youth Centre on April 30 has sparked protests and marches. The centre provides general and mental health services. In Gisborne, the Tairawhiti District Health Board's choice of an Auckland contractor to provide general mental health services means funding cuts and job losses for the former contractor, which will now provide Maori services.NZ Herald 27/03/10
Sandy Simpson one of NZ's foremost forensic psychiatrists says cuts to mental health funding will have a dramatic impact on front-line services.Dr Simpson says the cuts to the mental health service's administration have meant frontline staff have had to pick up that work as well as their own. RNZ 30/03/10

April 2010

Peter McGeorge Mental Health Commission told Radio New Zealand he had anecdotal evidence DHBs are breaking into mental health ring fenced money and that a number of important community-based mental health providers have had to close due to lack of funding. RNZ 06/04/10

Under 6s fee at Kenepuru puts young lives at risk Paediatrician Nikki Blair asks CCDHB to remove fees.  Board will report back in June.  Starship doctors agree Dominion Post 07/04/10

Northland DHB is warning people of delays in its emergency department as well as the postponement of some elective surgery and outpatient appointments following notice of industrial action by medical radiation technologists (MRTs).Northland District Health Board Media release 06/04/10  

Board looks at further health cuts.The Wellington district health board has cut contracts to medication management and cardiovascular risk assessments and has reduced funding for respiratory education. Kapiti Observer 09/04/10

$20m cuts will hit patients. Patients will lose frontline services in a plan to slash $10 million from primary health services in Wellington and Kapiti, primary health groups say. Capital & Coast District Health Board has provided The Dominion Post with details of primary health contracts it plans to cut or review this year and next year in order to save $10m. It is also planning to cut its hospital budget by $17m. The board, which has a $857m budget, wants to find savings of $27m as part of a plan to get rid of its deficit within three years. Moves include cancelling contracts to teach patients how to self-manage long-term conditions, cutting a refugee health service and ending some funding that provided longer doctor appointments for cardio-vascular patients. The board is also reviewing funding for court-based alcohol and drug counselling, immunisation and youth sexual health services. Dominion Post 12/0410  

Auckland Regional Public Health sheds 12 staff  The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is losing 7 per cent of its funding and 12 per cent of its fulltime-equivalent staffing.  The Public Health Association's national executive officer, Gay Keating, said similar cuts to public health units were occurring around the country. They would lead to more people having costly hospital stays for conditions that could have been managed in the community. The Health Ministry has already cut its public health budget more than 10 per cent, to around $60 million. Auckland is likely to lose the family violence reduction scheme and the oral health promotion scheme. Auckland Public Health will shut its Henderson and Manukau workplaces, and function exclusively from its headquarters at the previous National Women's Hospital premises in Greenlane.  RNZ news 12/0410  

Senior Doctors union Executive Director gives speech in Canberra listing ways clinicians have not been listening to under National. He says community and elderly were(so far) bearing the brunt of health cuts, said the next steps in primary care had not been thought out ASMS 15/04/10

Taranaki sources, who did not wish to be named, yesterday said grave fears existed that this was already happening.  Mr Coleman's spokesman said this was incorrect. "The Government has not said that DHBs can tap into mental health budgets. The Government has actually told DHBs that the ring fence remains in place." The news delighted Mental Health Foundation chief executive Judi Clements, of Auckland. "There was concern that it might be happening though it was not official," Dr Clements said. Taranaki Daily News 16/04/10

Retention of NZ Doctors Under Threat by Higher Course Fees The New Zealand Medical Association is calling on the Government to reconsider its stated intention to raise course fees for medical students saying that such a move will adversely affect New Zealand's ability to retain doctors in New Zealand NZMA 19/04/10

Looming staff cuts cause angst. Looming cuts to staff and services in Taranaki's public hospitals are cause for serious concern, a representative for health workers says. Public Service Association organiser Peter Ireland said yesterday that any suggestion of cuts to staff was worrying. "There is extreme concern about what is happening overall in the health sector," he said.  Taranaki Daily News 20/04/10

Elderly and ailing people in Murchison may be forced to end their lives away from home after speculation the NM District Health Board intends to close aged-care beds in Murchison Hospital. Nelson Mail 23/04/10

Visiting Prof Philip James WHO - obesity expert - criticises government approach. NZ's obesity controls had fallen behind the rest of the Western world. He was astonished that the National Government ditched the rule allowing only healthy foods to be sold routinely in schools.  He said New Zealand was going against the world trend, even among conservative governments. Its policy amounted to a subsidy for bad foods and taught children that eating them was normal. NZ Herald 26/04/10

Dying patients, people needing intensive rehabilitation and the elderly will all be hit by proposed health cuts in the Manawatu. The DHB confirmed it plans to make cuts and changes to its services that will save $2.7 million a year. Axing the overnight district nursing service, which provides care to patients, many of whom are terminally ill, in their homes. Dominion Post 22/04/10

Meals on Wheels cut backs for elderly Janferie Bryce-Chapman says the meals cost $5.13 each and older people living alone are at risk of malnutrition.  North Shore Times 27/04/10

Health deficit tops $8 million. DHB Committee member Nic Boheimer said there were moral and ethical questions about reducing any services which were by-products of health. "Pain is a by-product of hospitals.  "Having no pain management service would be like having a toilet with no toilet paper." Taranaki Daily News 28/04/10

Loss of a free and confidential sexual health service that is available to everyone in the MidCentral Health district would be disturbing, says Women's Health Collective member Jean Hera. "I don't understand how primary health is going to pick up all these clients."  Man. Std 28/04/10

Little hospital help for eye patients. People needing certain eye operations at Nelson Hospital will have to get worse or go private, due to Nelson Marlborough District Health Board limiting eye surgery for all but urgent cases The Nelson Mail 29/04/2010

Govt funding cuts have forced the axing of an advertising campaign targeting problem gamblers as the number of people seeking help soars. the Problem Gambling Foundation halted a $55,000 radio campaign - urging troubled gamblers to seek help - after just 6 months when the ministry cut $275,000 from its annual grant. ChCh Press 30/04/10

Concern and uncertainty surrounds one of Christchurch's health services with the respite care home, Newell House, closing its doors next month is run by the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church and provides respite care for mentally ill women and their children. TVNZ 30/04/10

May 2010

Cuts fears cloud celebration. The Palmerston North Diabetes Lifestyle Centre marked its 30th anniversary this week under the threat of service cuts. The Centre has established itself as a centre of excellence, recognised nationally and internationally and upon which specialist diabetes services in other centres have been modelled," Dr Dixon said. Another speaker sounding a warning not to tamper with diabetes services was Paul Drury, medical director of the New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes.  The incidence of diabetes is growing by about 8 per cent a year across New Zealand, and resources would have to be put into dealing with the "tsunami" of diabetes that was affecting communities and hitting people younger. Man Stnd 1/05/10

District face health cuts Norma Evans of Grey Power -"these health cuts are just going to snow ball and I'm worried more cuts will come.  This is just the start" "Some of our older people can't reach their toes to cut their toenails and they are charged $60 if they go to a podiatrist" I had a friend who had skin cancer and had been seen locally by a Dr in Oct but her appointment on the waiting list had fallen through the cracks - I'm getting more and more accounts of this sort of thing happening" Dannevirkes Glennis McDonald recently attended Grey Power conference in ChCh and says they have 80,000 membership. "Our membership is on the rise because elder people are concerned about health issues" Dannevirke News 03/05/10

Public Health cuts worry ProCare NZ Doctor 7/05/10

Surgeon slates MP's health claims.  Surgeon Clive Solomon disputes elective surgery figures used by Simon Power in his newsletter  "Almost anything can be considered an elective operation and by Mr Power's figures we have no idea whether an elective case represents a hip replacement, a liver transplant, a hernia repair or removal of a pimple or a splinter," Wanganui Chronicle 5/5/10

The Public Health Association is deeply disappointed by the announcement that 13 jobs are to go from the Environmental Health Group at ESR because cuts to essential services will result. Environmental Health Group staff help control outbreaks of the flu, meningitis and other illnesses that communicate from one person to another. Media statement 11/05/10

Regional Public Health will shed 9.3 full-time equivalent staff most of them working in health promotion roles if a proposed major re-structure is adopted. RPH is part of the Hutt Valley District Health Board but has roles in chronic disease, the medical officer of health role, health promotion, emergency preparedness and disease control for the Wellington region. It has 144.1 (FTE (full-time equivalent) staff. Hutt News 11/05/10

Addiction clinic to close after Auckland DHBs withdraw contracts. The Care NZ clinic in Otahuhu, part of a national network, has operated for nearly 40 years and serves several hundred clients. It has been funded under a contract with the Hutt Valley DHB, and was being "devolved" to the Auckland boards. But a source said yesterday that the clinic would close in early August because the Auckland, Waitemata and Counties Manukau DHBs would not renew its annual grant of around $250,000 NZ Herald 14/05/10

Father despairs at delays in 'urgent' surgery.Twelve-year-old Kirstie Wake has waited more than two years for surgery to treat her scoliosis during which time her spine has curved to 100 degrees. The father of a 12-year-old girl - confined to a wheelchair and unable to attend school because of a series of cancelled operations - has hit out at the "systematic breakdown" of the health system.  "I've gone past frustration to complete despair," her father, Gary, said. Auckland District Health Board insisted yesterday that the delays were necessary, and said Kirstie would get her operation. The Dominion Post 15/05/10

Harsh home help cut hurts sick pensioner Vicky Drew's home help was cut from 90 minutes a week to 60 minutes a fortnight, several months after a telephone assessment by her local health board. (Kapiti)The 85-year-old has two artificial knees, needs a hip replacement and has two vertebrae out of place, one of which is fractured NZ Herald 17/05/10

Health needs extra $555m, CTU says An additional $555 million is needed in Thursday's Budget to keep the health system afloat, a new study shows. In the 2009 Budget, district health board (DHB) funding increased by about $750m. That was expected to be slashed in half this year, "There is a serious risk that using such a blunt fiscal instrument will force DHBs to adopt shock-therapy measures, with the victims being patients," he said. ChCh Press 17/05/10

Paraparaumu College - has had a weekly visit from a nurse, then it was cut back to fortnightly, and now there will be no visits from 1 July.  Previously funded by Hutt Valley DHB. Email to Ruth Dyson 20/05/10

Health cuts 'too deep' - community Nurses carried a coffin down Levin's main street yesterday, in defence of Star4, the Horowhenua Health Centre's assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation ward. Despite plans to cut $9 million from patient services, the MidCentral District Health Board has approved spending more than $1.4m on new computer software. Manawatu Standard 20/05/10

Reprieve won for medical centre Horowhenua has won a $1.2 million reprieve for its health centre, and 10 medical and nursing jobs are safe for now following a MidCentral Health backdown. Manawatu Standard 22/05/10

Gemini Nursing Services Ltd is a nurse-led practice providing nursing services to low income people in Tauranga and Te Puke.  The PHO has recently advised them that their funding has been cut.  The practice has been running for 3.5 years and last year saw over 4,800 patients.  The practice employs 4 nurses (2 FTE and 2 part-time).  They have a weekly clinic with the local Turning Point Trust (health checks for patients with mental illness, see and a weekly clinic in Te Puke used by seasonal workers and those who cannot afford to see their GP. Email to Ruth Dyson 24/05/10

Wainuiomata is losing 4 Doctors on 1st July. There will only be two doctors left and they are not going to be replaced. Email to Ruth Dyson 24/05/10

Mental health funding cut The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board will slash $1.51 million from mental health services in the district. The cuts are being made partly as a result of the board's Rutherford Initiative, aimed at making savings in community and hospital health services. They would address a forecast $1.8m mental health overspend, the board said in a statement. Key people in affected organisations said they were reeling from this body blow to mental health services. However, they felt unable to speak on the record while contract negotiations with the board were underway. "It is an indicator of people's insecurity that they won't be quoted," said one representative. The cuts were slammed as hitting a vulnerable group lacking a strong voice. Nelson Mail The Marlborough Express 25/05/10 News

Wellington Hospital staff sent home to save cash Elective surgery and other services at Wellington Hospital will be cut for a week while staff are sent on leave to save money.The Resident Doctors Association fears patient safety will be compromised but Capital & Coast District Health Board says there will be little effect on patients Dominion Post 27/05/10  

Plans to close Kenepuru overnight emergency services  between 11pm and 8am to save money RNZ News 27/05/10

Daughter pays nurse to help at hospital. Golden Bay resident Victoria Davis spent $1000 hiring a nurse to care for her mother in Nelson Hospital after she says staff told her to hire outside help because they were too overworked to look after her. Ms Davis is also angered that a Nelson rest home missed the severe bladder infection that landed her mother, Josephine Fargo, 87, in hospital with septicaemia when the infection spread to her blood. Dominion Post 29/05/10

Hospital may axe staff to cut deficit Staff cuts are looming at the Whanganui District Health Board as the health service battles to live within a constricting budget. Wanganui Chronicle 31/05/10

June 2010

Plea over medical training Christchurch Hospital surgeons are refining their skills among buckets of rainwater while nurses are training in store rooms, says the head of Canterbury's clinical skills unit. ChCh Press 01/05/10

Golden Bay's mental health service, Te Whare Mahana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), will need money from charities if it is avoid cutting services. Nelson Marlborough District Health Board is to slash $1.5 million from mental health services across the district in the next financial year and NGOs will be hardest hit - they receive 25 per cent of the total mental health funding but suffered 40 per cent of the budget cuts. Te Whare Mahana manager Jo Johnson described the regional cuts as "shocking and "a big blow". She said mental health was already underfunded. The Nelson Mail 1/05/10

South Link Health has shed its general manager position as it continues to "cut the cloth to fit" its circumstances. NZ Doctor 02/06/10

Managers face axe in health shakeup The heads of senior managers are on the chopping block at Nelson Marlborough District Health Board as rising costs and demands on health services force a restructure of its strategic leadership team. The sweeping review will mean that all members of the current team will have to apply for new positions, with only chief executive John Peters' job safe.The Nelson Mail 04/06/10  

Home help slashed by 1000 hours a week Southland people have lost more than 1000 hours a week of home help and will almost certainly lose even more as the Southern District Health Board seeks to slash millions of dollars from its budget. The board has cut a total of 1493 hours a week of home help services across Southland and Otago with the southern region bearing the brunt of the cuts to date with 1091 hours lost to 682 people Southland Times 04/06/10

Another hospital ordeal Nelson Hospital nurses told her they were too busy to care for her husband is urging people to speak out about working conditions in the hospital's medical ward. In September last year Nelson man William Evans, 85, was in hospital after suffering his seventh stroke. Mr Evans uses incontinence products, and his wife, Liz Evans, said a nurse told her she was too busy to shower him. Mrs Evans, who usually cares fulltime for her husband at home, showered him at the hospital herself. "I said `Is this legal?' She said `No, but it's on your head if there's an accident'."    The Nelson Mail 05/06/10

Stay quiet on health cuts, staff warned Midcentral Health staff have been told not to bother patients about proposed health service cuts. said chief executive Murray Georgel in a staff newsletter about the financial recovery plan and its goal of finding $10 million in savings. "These are challenging times for us as an organisation," he said. "Please continue to provide timely, efficient and safe patient care while any questions or feedback about our financial recovery programme can be directed to me, to general managers, or to directors within MidCentral Health."Man Std 05/06/10

Hospital needs 'business focus' Lakes District Hospital was "permanently in financial difficulty" and some sort of public-private partnership would improve its viability, Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister and local MP Bill English said in Queenstown yesterday.  Southland Times 05/06/10

Board finding 'not surprising' In February, Ms Davis paid a private nurse $1000 to come into Nelson Hospital to care for her mother, 87-year-old Josephine Fargo, who was in hospital with septicaemia. "We're looking at an investigation of a body by a body," Ms Davis said. "If a nurse had come out and admitted she did say that, there would be consequences. Whether any of the staff feel free to speak candidly about what happened will be dependent on how they think it will affect their working environment." The Nelson Mail 04/06/10

Pressure builds against cuts About 120 people braved bitterly cold temperatures in Palmerston North's Square to protest MidCentral District Health Board cuts. Sixteen speakers called for the community to put pressure on the board and the Government to stop planned "changes" to frontline health services. "They tell us this is not about cuts, but about change. Well, I beg to differ," said Manawatu Stewart Centre manager Janet Webb.Man Std 10/06/2010

Record numbers hinder ED target Waikato DHB faces a near-impossible task of achieving the Government's six-hour emergency department health target by the June 30 deadline. May figures for the DHB showed a slide in the ED's ability to treat and discharge or admit 95 per cent of patients within a six-hour time frame. 79.8 % - a 5 per cent drop on April results where 84.9 %. DHB acute services assistant group manager Kevin Harris said record numbers of patients coming into the emergency departments had taken a toll on achieving the target. And it wasn't people who should be going to their GP first who were to blame.  Waikato Times 12/06/10

Dozens of jobs face axe DHB management is refusing to confirm how many people will lose their jobs - from report Safely Reducing our Spending Wanganui Chronicle 14/06/10

682 Southlanders have lost home help Government is being accused of breaching the United Nations' charter on human rights and could face legal action over cuts to home help for the elderly. Meetings have been held throughout the country as part of a Labour and Green Party "investigation" into the state of aged care but it was clearly the cuts to home help in Southland that resulted in 200 people attending the meeting yesterday. More than 20 people stood up and told of how they or their relatives or friends had been cut from the system.The Southland 15/06/10

Hutt health group says funding cuts will hit high needs patients A Hutt primary health organisation (PHO) with 92 per cent of patients classified as "high needs" says it's being forced to cut frontline staff hours and/or increase fees because of funding cuts. Piki Te Ora ki Te Awakairangi has 12,600 patients enrolled with the Hutt Union (HUCHS) practices in Petone and Pomare, Whai Oranga in Wainuiomata and the Pacific Health Service in Naenae. HUCHs manager Sally Nicholl says discretionary funding to the PHO from the Hutt Valley District Health Board is to be halved (to about $300,000) and it's also expecting lower Govt funding Hutt News 15/06/10

Our story sparks 'gagging' letter A stern letter from Hawke's Bay DHB has left PHO managers in the district worried about speaking to the media.The confidential letter (21 May 2009), addressed to Wairoa PHO chair Ian Redshaw, demanded an apology for Wairoa PHO manager Margie Sullivan's comments in New Zealand Doctor (20 May 2009) concerning the DHB's, to that point, inflexible response to questions about a $35,000 bill for mistakes in general practice enrolment forms. Since then, Ms Sullivan says she and other PHO managers have felt unsure what they can or cannot talk about and almost like they can't say anything at all. Another Hawke's Bay PHO manager, Tu Meke's Lynda Creighton, actually drew New Zealand Doctor's attention to the letter's existence, citing it as the reason she wouldn't be saying "anything radical".NZ Doctor 16/06/10

Budget cuts raise cost of GP visits for poorer patients Patients in some of the poorest parts of Lower Hutt will pay more for doctors' visits, with funding to a local health organisation set to be cut.The move has sparked fears that low-income patients may stop going to their GPs, get sicker and end up in hospital. The Hutt-based Piki te Ora Primary Health Organisation will have $95,000 cut from its budget from July 1 - money used to subsidise the cost of healthcare for people unable to afford doctors' visits.Dom Post 17/06/10

Home help cuts biting A massive reduction in housework allowances for sick Southlanders is starting to hit home, and senior citizens claim they are bearing the brunt of the Government's cost cutting. Jenny and Bert Porter are typical of the 687 people who have had their domestic assistance entitlements reduced or cut by the Southern District Health Board during the past year.The Southland Times 18/06/10

Cuts leave the elderly helpless Grey Power will complain to the Human Rights Commission that health board cuts to the elderly's home help is age discrimination. Hundreds of pensioners who rely on help for home cleaning and groceries have had their care reduced.The Dominion Post 19/06/10

Doctor exodus puts pressure on training So many New Zealand-trained medical registrars are leaving the country that our top doctors are wondering why we train them at all. Half of all the medical registrars in their final year of training go overseas, according to a survey that found the lure of a pay difference, amounting to $70,000 in Australia, for instance, was driving the exodus. Powell said the situation was a crisis and "generally a crisis comes a bit before a collapse". Sunday Star 20/06/10

Reduction in activity for DHB goes ahead A "planned reduction in activity" has gone ahead this week as the Capital and Coast District Health Board (CCDHB) tries to save money Some elective surgeries and non-essential support services would not be scheduled for this week and some staff had been asked to take annual leave, starting from today NZPA 21/06/10