Healthcare services in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago will begin expanding next year with $128 million in additional operational spending over the next four years, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.<\/p>\n
Announcing Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora\u2019s (HNZ) new clinical services plan for the region at Queenstown\u2019s Lakes District Hospital yesterday, Mr Brown said HNZ\u2019s board had \u2018\u2018agreed in principle\u2019\u2019 on the new funding, starting with $25m from 2027-28 and a further estimated $103m over the following three years.<\/p>\n
The expansion will focus on primary, diagnostic, maternity, obstetric and gynaecology, and outpatient services, and also aims to bring mental health and addiction support closer to home.<\/p>\n
It will be supported by $52m in capital funding to upgrade existing facilities, and to modernise digital systems to better connect the region with specialist services, including the new Dunedin outpatient facility, Mr Brown said.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Work is already under way, including funded blood tests, X-rays, ultrasounds, telehealth, cancer care being brought closer to home, including more local IV infusions.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
One of the first tangible improvements would be an expansion of Lakes District Hospital\u2019s emergency department \u2018\u2018within the next six to eight months\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018This hospital does an amazing job \u2014 I think it\u2019s around 18,000 to 20,000 presentations on an annual basis, and of course there\u2019s huge numbers of visitors who come through this community.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I think it\u2019s a 7%-8% increase in demand year on year, which is enormous, so there\u2019s a need for more space.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
There would also be increased access to diagnostics \u2014 including MRI for planned and acute needs \u2014 and improved point of care testing across the region.<\/p>\n
Mr Brown said the next phase would be improved maternity services, with a focus on \u2018\u2018expanding the number of births taking place here in this community\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
HNZ\u2019s board had agreed to the \u2018\u2018direction of travel for a new local maternity model\u2019\u2019 in the region, and HNZ would work closely with midwives, obstetricians, GPs and other clinicians to design a service that\u2019s \u2018\u2018safe, sustainable and responsive to local needs\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
Community-based mental health and addiction services would also be expanded, with more local assessment and treatment, crisis care and residential care options, and safe spaces for mental health crisis assessment and support.<\/p>\n
Mr Brown said about 70% of New Zealanders who lived more than two hours from a base hospital live in the Otago Central-Lakes area.<\/p>\n
The new plan had identified where services were under pressure, and would help ensure they kept pace with the needs of the Otago Central-Lakes community \u2018\u2018now and into the future\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
Southland National MP Joseph Mooney said he was \u2018\u2018incredibly excited\u2019\u2019 by the new plan, the culmination of three years\u2019 work by a wide group of stakeholders in the region to \u2018\u2018try and push for more service delivery and infrastructure for this region\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018A lot of people said it was impossible, but a lot of people have come together to turn the impossible into reality.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
That work had occurred under the umbrella of the Southern Lakes Health Trust, a collaboration involving the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago District Councils, local MPs, clinicians, rural health providers and M\u0101ori health providers.<\/p>\n
Mr Mooney said the operational and capital spending announced by Mr Brown was \u2018\u2018a lot of new money that wasn\u2019t coming and now is coming\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
HNZ had also recognised its population modelling data has not been adequate for at least two decades.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018It\u2019s now firmly on the map that this is going to be a bigger population, resident-wise, than Dunedin in 15 years\u2019 time.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
That meant there was now a \u2018\u2018future pathway\u2019\u2019 towards a general hospital somewhere in the region, although detailed planning is probably five to 10 years away, he said.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018That\u2019s hugely exciting … it\u2019s the first time it\u2019s been on the map as a potential option for the Otago Central-Lakes region, which is huge.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Southern Lakes Health Trust independent convener Helen Foot said she was \u2018\u2018absolutely delighted\u2019\u2019 by yesterday\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018I\u2019ve chatted to a few people since who feel it was a bit vague, but I think if you understand how health works, you would see what a huge step forward this is.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018This is something that\u2019s never before been heard of \u2014 we\u2019ve never had the words \u2018general hospital located in Otago Central Lakes\u2019 stated before.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
It came off the back of years of work to identify the region\u2019s needs and issues \u2014 information that had gone into the trust\u2019s report to Mr Brown a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018We thought it would all be obstacles, it would be too huge, and we didn\u2019t know if we\u2019d get there … we just kept pursuing it from all different angles.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018Now we have something that has real budget, real momentum, and the end game is still a hospital.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018So it\u2019s a turning point \u2014 whether it\u2019s an increase in the budgets for all southern health services, it may not \u2014 it might be [HNZ] is expecting to find efficiencies elsewhere as they move services through to our region.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the trust would continue working on expanding private healthcare services in the region, she said.<\/p>\n
There was a lot of opportunity to have the region\u2019s health workforce working across the public and private sectors.<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2018This is about privately-financed buildings the public system can lease, and the opportunity for co-locations with the private sector that would make the most of the workforce we have, which, despite our incredibly rapid growth and all our population projections, is still a smallish area to provide a full suite of services across.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n