How will patients benefit from health restructuring?

It’s hard to see how patients needing health treatment will see any benefits from the restructuring of health and the establishment of a new bureaucracy by the National Government of a new health body, Labour Health spokesperson Ruth Dyson says.

“Labour is fully supportive of joint purchasing, realising efficiencies and streamlining bureaucracy, but you can achieve all of these things without setting up an entirely new bureaucratic entity,” Ruth Dyson said.

“The public are already experiencing cuts up and down the country under the National Government and this new bureaucratic entity will do nothing to deliver better frontline health services for those people that need them.

“How will a new bureaucracy help people in Timaru get into their Emergency Department when the Minister of Health signed off on a cut of 5000 admissions a year?

“How will it benefit elderly Kiwis who are facing callous cuts to home support, and how will it help the people of Tairawhiti who won’t be able to have an operation during a six-week surgery shut down because of cost-cutting?

“We already know from the last 12 months that the National Party’s claims of moving backroom services to the frontline are nothing more than rhetoric.

“Patients needing to see a doctor will not see any benefits from today’s announcement.

“This is the first step to a wholesale restructure of the health system that will not lead to more frontline health services for patients and is in fact likely to lead to increased centralisation of health care, meaning fewer health services in the regions and a reduced ability of DHBs to make decisions for their communities, “Ruth Dyson said.

Health Cuts since coming to office
February 2009
o Pies back on the menu in schools
o March 2009
o Taranaki DHB has publicly signalled that its hospital is preparing for cut backs. Taranaki Daily News 10 March 2009
April 2009
o 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.
o May 2009
o Cut anti obesity, oral health and mental health targets
o National have taken $2.3 million out of cancer control. Budget 2009
o Slashed the diabetes ‘let’s get checked’ budget by $4.8 million each year. Budget 2009
o Cut $3 million from the cardiovascular disease budget. Budget 2009
o Mental Health services have also had their funding cut. Budget 2009
June 2009
o 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 June 2009
o 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.
o Tony Ryall this year signed off on a 6.5 percent increase in GP fees the largest increase since fees came in.
o The Fruit in Schools programme which currently provides 100,000 children with fresh fruit each day is under threat.

o Mid Central DHB makes cuts $10 million cuts Manawatu Standard
July 2009
o South Canterbury DHB has said it will be reducing the amount of patients seen in its Emergency Department by up to 5000 people a year.
o SCDHB has also signalled that it is looking to reduce the number of patients using radiology services. Error! Reference source not found.
o The DHB also confirmed that it would be axing up to 200 elective operations per year because of a cut in Government funding.
o August 2009
o Cuts to elderly care in South Canterbury

o Sport fit coordinator jobs at risk
o Waikato DHB has frozen clinician jobs.
o Dunstan Hospital reduces community physio and disability home support
• Dannevirke outpatient cuts
September 2009
o Mental health funding on chopping block $2million chopped in Nelson.

ENDS

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