Charity Hospital’s 10th Birthday Celebration Bitter-Sweet

Charity Hospital’s 10th birthday celebration a bitter-sweet anniversary

“The fact local people are still having to go cap-in-hand for the health care their doctors say they need makes the 10thbirthday of the Canterbury Charity Hospital a bitter-sweet anniversary,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS).

“The charity hospital has done an extraordinary amount of work in the past decade to ease the pain and suffering of people who have been unable to access surgery or other treatment in the severely under-funded public health system.

“It is rightly celebrating the impact it has had on people’s lives, and full credit needs to go to the hospital’s founders and the dedicated teams of medical and support staff who have given their time and expertise over the years.

“The Government, however, should feel ashamed that the charity hospital is still needed. It’s a damning indictment of the years of under-funding of New Zealand’s public health system, which has left our hospitals severely strapped for cash and patients struggling to see specialists and other health professionals.

“No birthday cake for you, Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.”

ENDS

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