The Ministry of Health denies it was ever asked for extra funding by a disability and rehabilitation service that says it is being forced to close its doors for largely financial reasons.
Laura Fergusson Rehabilitation offers residential and outpatient care including programmes for people living with disabilities and those affected by strokes, brain and spinal injury.
On Friday Checkpoint revealed Laura Fergusson Rehabilitation will be closing all services in Whanganui, Waikato and Auckland by August 2020.
Read more: NZ disability rehab centre closure worries clients
Rob Small. Photo: RNZ
Laura Fergusson Rehabilitation board spokesperson Rob Small said the trust asked the government for extra funding but was told no.
"We have consistently asked the government to provide more funds for some of these services," he said.
He told Checkpoint the reason for the service's closure in Auckland, Waikato and Whanganui was "entirely financial".
But the Ministry of Health's Deputy Director-General for Disability Adri Isbister said the organisation did not ask for extra help and only told the ministry of the planned closure after the decision was already made.
"In my time (nine months) there has been no conversation with Laura Fergusson on the level of funding they were receiving," Isbister said.
"If something like this gets signalled by a provider we can support them by bringing our finance team in, working with their finance team, looking at how we can think about future models of care."
The ministry had made the offer to Laura Fergusson Rehabilitation, but the decision to close services had already been made, Isbister said.
"We did say: 'Is there anything we could do right now to change your mind?' We met with their deputy chair, and their board and CE. The decision had been made."
She said she did not know whether other disability rehabilitation providers were in financial trouble, but had asked the disability community to talk to the ministry.
In the last financial year, Laura Fergusson Trust received $8 million from ACC and Ministry of Health funding.
