Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) has completed its Central Lakes clinical services plan.

It is currently being considered by Minister of Health Simeon Brown, HNZ confirmed.

An HNZ spokesperson said it would be up to the Minister of Health if and when the clinical services plan is made public.

A clinical services plan helps to determine what future publicly funded clinical services may be required in a given area, how they will be delivered, and where they will be provided.

The local review of clinical services began in July and was welcomed by elected members, groups and individuals who have pushed for improved health services.

Read more: Mayors, MPs welcome clinical services review.

Southern Lakes Health Trust - one of those groups - says the completion of the plan is a “hugely important step forward for our community.”

“For years, we’ve been raising concerns that health services and infrastructure in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago are woefully inadequate for our rapidly growing and geographically isolated population,” SLHT chair Tony Paterson said.

Read more: Healthcare crisis for Upper Clutha - report.

“Until now, it’s been difficult to advocate effectively without the comprehensive data needed to prove it.

“We’re confident the clinical services plan will now provide that irrefutable evidence and make our needs impossible to ignore.”

When the clinical services plan was first announced, HNZ Southern chief medical officer David Gow said it would look at how needs have changed in this region, with clinical services “the priority” and the location of a regional hospital “the fundamental point of the review”.

In late November, HNZ Te Waipounamu community integration group manager Aroha Metcalf said the plan would set a national precedent for how services are delivered in rural and remote communities by responding to population and geography in equal measure.

SLHT says it was advised by HNZ that it expected an update in the new year.

PHOTO: Wānaka App