The Wānaka App has had a huge response to its editorial last week, which suggested locals would be better putting efforts into lobbying for better access to health services than in opposing the establishment of a McDonald's restaurant in Wānaka.

The editorial lists some of the challenges the Upper Clutha population faces in accessing health services, from the limited after hours care to the extra costs.

EDITORIAL: Health, wellness, and priorities - News - News - The Wānaka App (wanakaapp.nz)

The feedback we received indicates a high level of concern about access to healthcare in the Upper Clutha, with one person describing the "lack of adequate healthcare" as "the huge chasm in our community".

"I am a mother of two children and every single time I have a conversation with others about the state of our healthcare we all agree 100% that it is actually dangerous and the number one concern for people living here,” another person who contacted the Wānaka App said.

“Most of us just try not to think about it and hope we don't ever need serious help, let alone normal levels. How do we make this topic a top priority for our representatives to sort out?"

Elected representatives respond

The Wānaka App passed that question on to Waitaki MP Miles Anderson and Wānaka Upper Clutha Community Board chair Simon Telfer.

Simon Telfer was the first to respond. 

What’s missing in Wānaka? Daily after hours medical care, for one.  

“We have an expectation that central government agencies provide better health planning and investment into one of the fastest growing districts in the country,” he said.

“The commissioning of the birthing unit in Wānaka is an example of delivery of health services to the Upper Clutha taking too long.”

The Wānaka App asked him if the board had considered taking the concerns directly to the local MP and/or the central health agencies. He replied: “Our current focus is strengthening the relationship with Central Otago Health Inc.”

Central Otago Health Inc is the community owned not for profit organisation providing health services out of Dunstan Hospital Clyde, which services patients from the Upper Clutha. This year Queenstown Lakes District Council refused its application for $1,500 towards managing the organisation.

New MP Miles Anderson said he shared concerns voiced by members of the Upper Clutha community.

“There is much to do in the health space, but I am committed to working hard to ensure the health needs of people in Upper Clutha – and the Waitaki electorate – are top-of-mind for the coalition government,” he said.

He talked about the National Party’s intentions to implement various nationwide initiatives, like increasing medical school placements, incentivising more Kiwis to study nursing or midwifery, establishing a third medical school in the North Island and, in the short-term, simplifying visa rules for migrant nurses and midwives and offering relocation support to make New Zealand more attractive.

Miles said he will now be involved with a health strategy Southland MP Joseph Mooney has been working on.

“I am eager to continue to meet with locals and regional health stakeholders to discuss the concerns and needs of health services in the region, which I can then convey on to new Minister of Health Shane Reti. 

Upper Clutha needs health ‘front door’

Community Networks/LINK said the current health services are doing the best they can with the resources they have, but an increase in funding for new health services is needed. 

“The results of the survey of our older people showed a need for easier access to health services including specialist services,” a staffer said.

Read more: Health, housing top concerns for seniors

Community Networks has noticed the Ministry of Education has had the foresight to plan ahead and increase school sizes and numbers in the Queenstown Lakes District in the past 15 years (five more primary schools were built in that time and the two highschools have doubled in size). 

But growth in health services has not been matched.

“Some of it is historic, but when does history run out and reality kick in?” the staffer said.

“We know the population is increasing, so where is the beginning of a ‘front door’ to health [an emergency department] in this area. There should be - and could be - a front door at Dunstan.”

No more statistics are needed to support development of health services here, and some rationalisation of current services is possible, they said, such as Te Whatu Ora reclaiming Dunstan Hospital and creating an emergency department there.

After hours care and transport to hospital are funded in Queenstown, but not here, they pointed out.

Te Whatu Ora, WellSouth: specific challenges in rural area

The Wānaka App also approached Te Whatu Ora (formerly the Southern District Health Board), WellSouth (the primary health organisation for Otago, supports GP practices) and Wānaka’s two GP practices: Wānaka Medical Centre and Aspiring Medical Centre. We asked what concerns they were currently facing around provision of health care in the Upper Clutha, and what, if any, was being done about it.

WellSouth and Te Whatu Ora were the only ones to respond.

Te Whatu Ora described the existence of an emergency department in Queenstown’s Lakes District Hospital Queenstown, an hour’s drive over the Crown Range.  

Te Whatu Ora Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown said it provides funding to Dunstan Hospital (another hour’s drive).

He said Dunstan Hospital had an after hours GP service open from 6pm to 8am, seven days a week, accessed by calling Healthline, and said there is a new rural after-hours telehealth service, though most people (aside from seniors and under 14s) will have to pay for a consultation with a doctor.

“When people call the [new rural] service, they are first triaged by nurses and kaiāwhina and can be referred through to a doctor if needed. The service is an extension of the care provided by your usual healthcare provider, but it is also available to those who are unenrolled and living in a rural area.”

WellSouth listed the same services Te Whatu Ora did but expanded on specific challenges in the Upper Clutha and discussed the work underway to improve services in the future.

The hodgepodge of services here, with hospitals at least an hour away, is “fairly typical for a rural setting”, WellSouth clinical director Carol Atmore said.

However, she acknowledged that the Upper Clutha and wider district face the additional challenge of being “tourism hotspots”.

Carol said WellSouth would like to do more for rural health services.

“A major project for us is the Rural Services Review working in partnerships with Te Whatu Ora - Southern,” she said. 

“Established in April 2023, the Review provides input and advice on the planning and delivery of rural health services across the Southern region to Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand.”

The review group consists of Māori, Pacific and Rural community representatives as well as health sector experts from various Rural Health Providers and a representative from WellSouth.

Last word

We’ve given the last word on this issue to one of our readers who responded to last week’s editorial.

“Where are those 5,000 signatories to campaign against those actual tangible improvements to our access to better healthcare here in Wānaka? And it isn't so much bagging what we currently have, but more about understanding the current barriers to why we don't have better access to things like after hours care, screening, etc. 

“I am sure if there was a petition that said, we need (X) amount of money annually to make an after hour service at our medical centre - you could get it across the line. That is a campaign I can get behind, not worrying about McDonald's and capitalism. That ain't changing in a hurry.” 

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