Underfunding by CDHB could lead to service cuts for elderly

Underfunding by the C&CDHB could lead to service cuts for the elderly

C&CDHB management decisions will have a negative impact on high-need elderly people in our region, says Healthcare of New Zealand Chairman, and former Deputy Chair of the District Health Board, Ken Douglas.

Funding for restorative home and community support services for elderly people has been reduced from $13 to $11 million, in a contracting process recently completed by the District Health Board's Planning and Funding team.

Healthcare of New Zealand has been informed that it was unsuccessful in that process. This decision, along with the cut in funding, put at risk both workers and elderly clients.

Mr Douglas said the DHB's planning process was fundamentally flawed.

Modelling done by Healthcare of New Zealand during the tender showed that the new, more expensive service model was underfunded by more than $4 million. This issue was raised with the DHB by the three existing providers during the RFP process.

Healthcare of New Zealand's modelling was based on its experience in providing similar services in Auckland and Canterbury. It was also based on the actual costs and client data collected by the Auckland DHB and its four providers (over a two year period), and analysed and critiqued by Auckland University Associate Professor of Accounting and Finance, Paul Rouse for the Auckland DHB.

Mr Douglas said the poor planning by the DHB staff put Healthcare of New Zealand into an impossible situation.

"Quite simply, the budget being proposed for this service and the expected service volumes do not match. This will have the inevitable result of significantly reducing the quality and quantity of care available for elderly people, or forcing the contacted organisations to subsidise the care themselves."

"For the DHB's planners not to confront this directly and plan for it is utterly irresponsible. They're at risk of trading long-term safety for short-term savings."

"Under the Employment Relations Act, we are required to communicate with the vulnerable workers among our staff about what will happen to them and whether they will be taken on by the new providers, but it is still unclear how many staff will be needed and what volume of service will be delivered.

"This is an impossible position for Healthcare of New Zealand, our staff and our clients.

"We are therefore in the process of filing a claim against the DHB, accompanied by a notified injunction that will at a minimum force the parties to talk openly with each other about the service volumes, the decision-making process, and the future for staff and clients in this region."

ENDS

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