New hospital, strengthened services

01 October 2007

New hospital, strengthened services

A vibrant new teaching hospital in Whakatane will deliver strengthened and upgraded services and will attract health professionals to the region.

In the first week of community consultation meetings, the Bay of Plenty District Health Board has unveiled a list of core services it wants delivered from a rebuilt Whakatane Hospital and is asking the community for its views.

Board Chair Mary Hackett says contrary to the speculation of some, retention of services in a new hospital for Whakatane has always been a priority.

“The Board has a long term commitment to hospital-based services in the Eastern Bay of Plenty,” she says. “We know the current building needs a major upgrade and we want to ensure new facilities offer the right services to the region.
“As for claims we are downgrading staff and beds, our response is that we staff according to service demands, not beds, so if the services are the same or better, then staff numbers will remain the same or grow.”

The public consultation process starting on 1 October will continue through October and November with a series of public meetings in Whakatane, Kawerau and Opotiki. A number of meetings have also been organised by the Maori Health Runanga in the Eastern Bay, and will be held in Whakatane, Opotiki, Matata, Murupara and Taneatua. All the groups contacted during last year’s consultation on community health services have been invited to attend, along with the public, local authorities and other interested parties.

“We plan to retain all the current core services including 24/7 emergency care, hospital-based obstetrics and surgical services and increase outpatient and daypatient services and mental health crisis services.

“These improvements will be in line with our aims to strengthen community-based healthcare, following recommendations from community consultation earlier this year (the Grafton Group Report),” says Mrs Hackett.

“It is premature to talk about bed numbers until we have a clear picture of what service levels the public wants the new hospital to deliver. The buildings will be designed to meet both current and future needs. In many areas we do not treat patients in the same way we did 20 or 30 years ago and this may lead to some services having fewer beds with new or growing services getting more beds.”

Advances in surgical and medical techniques also mean many people no longer need to stay in hospital after operations, increasing demand for day recovery areas and reducing demand for the more traditional ward bed.

“These are all factors that will determine how the new building is configured and looks. We are asking the community to tell us whether we are on the right track with the services Whakatane Hospital should deliver into the future. In the meantime, the Board has approved approximately $500,000 of improvements and maintenance at Whakatane Hospital to be carried out in the next 12 months. All of these will be utilised in the new buildings.”

Mrs Hackett is urging people to come along and contribute to the discussions. “We’ve asked for the community to comment and the next few weeks is the opportunity to tell us what they think,” she says.

ENDS

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