Health NZ/Te Whatu Ora’s latest comment on the health challenges facing the Upper Clutha has failed to impress either the local health advocacy group Health Action Wānaka (HAW) or the Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board (WUCCB) chair, who described the health agency’s response as “word salad”.

The Wānaka App asked Te Whatu Ora to respond to a call from Southern mayors Glyn Lewers (Queenstown Lakes District Council) and Tim Cadogan (Central Otago District Council) for urgent improvements to health care.

The mayors wrote an open letter in response to Te Whatu Ora’s draft Te Waipounamu Health and Wellbeing Plan, saying the plan needs to “urgently address” inland Otago’s inadequate access to public health care.

The mayors said there had been a long-standing lack of investment in local provision of publicly funded health services, infrastructure, and workforce to meet the districts’ health needs.

Read more: Mayors call for urgent improvements to public health care

It took Te Whatu Ora a week to respond to the Wānaka App’s request (which asked specifically about plans to address the gap in after-hours care in the Upper Clutha).

Te Whatu Ora Te Waipounamu regional wayfinder and regional integration team co-chair Chiquita Hansen said a number of developments were underway to improve health services in this area, including a new general practice in Wānaka, a new maternity unit (which was purchased two years ago but alterations only began last October), “local point of care lab testing and the Ka Ora telehealth consultation service” (which triages after hours calls).

“The Pae Ora Healthy Futures Act 2021 provides the foundation for a longer-term integrated approach to planning and health services provision to ensure community voices and local priorities inform developments,” Chiquita said.

“In recognition of feedback on the Regional Health and Wellbeing Plan for Te Waipounamu (2024-27), the integrated planning process for Southern has been included in the revised version of the plan which will include engagement with community groups, stakeholders and the mayors and councils in Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes.”

WUCCB chair Simon Telfer said this community is looking for tangible implementation of new health services in Wānaka. 

“It's getting tiring having to interpret word salad media releases from government agencies,” he added.

HAW steering committee chair Monique Mayze said while it was encouraging that Te Whatu Ora was publicly acknowledging its need to better understand our community's healthcare needs, the agency’s statement “sounds like an attempt to 'buy time' while our community continues to wait”. 

“We are looking for fit-for-purpose solutions that reflect our community's unique needs which are different to those of the Queenstown and Central Otago communities which both have access to a hospital, after-hours care, and free blood tests,” Monique said. 

Glyn Lewers said it is disappointing that Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago are still waiting for access to adequate public local healthcare.

“Concerningly, 70 percent of the people in Aotearoa New Zealand who live two hours or more from a base hospital live in inland Otago. And that’s only counting residents,” he said.

“With facilities several hours drive away it’s not something we can afford to wait any longer for — we’re simply growing too fast.”

Chiquita also repeated a Te Whatu Ora talking point: “Catering for the needs of the growing population of the Central Otago region is an ongoing consideration for Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ) in terms of what might be needed right now and, in the future, and how best to deliver those services.”

IMAGES: Supplied