Roger Sowry National Health Spokesperson
19 February 2002
Heart unit closure disaster for Otago & Southland
Dunedin's cardiac surgery unit is set to close as Health Minister Annette King has told Parliament today that Heart
Surgery South Island will 'disappear altogether'.
When questioned by Opposition MPs on how surgery for waiting South Island heart patients would be funded, Mrs King
indicated that Heart Surgery South Island would be disbanded because the services would in future be funded through
district health boards. This means Dunedin will lose its heart unit.
"This is a disaster for Otago and Southland people. Without this company operating its mutual arrangement with both the
Canterbury and Otago District Health Boards there will be just one heart unit based in Christchurch to serve the whole
of the South Island.
"Once Dunedin loses heart surgery services you will lose the clinical and surgical people who work there.
"The reason Heart Surgery South Island was established was to maintain the ability to do heart surgery in Dunedin and
Christchurch. Now there will be a return to the same arguments between two cities over who should provide the services.
"Annette King promised she would address surgery waiting times but this closure will do nothing but catapult waiting
times and lists above already crisis levels," Mr Sowry said.
Ends