Some 35,000 residents and clinicians marched through Dunedin in September to protest plans to scale back the redevelopment of its hospital. Photo: RNZ / Tess Brunton
A South Otago mother says the region should not be forced to choose whose loved ones miss out on healthcare to cut the budget for the Dunedin Hospital rebuild.
In September, ministers announced the planned redevelopment would either need to be reduced or done in stages, due to the budget blowing out to $3 billion.
Checkpoint understands under one proposal, the sixth level of the inpatient building could be scrapped altogether, including mental health beds for the elderly. Specialists had until Wednesday to make their feelings known on the proposal.
A leading clinician said the plan was ageist and politicians would not dare to do it to paediatric services.
The government was insisting the project be completed within the current $1.9 billion budget, despite a National election promise to deliver Dunedin a hospital that would be fit for purpose for generations.
Balclutha woman Natasha Munro's daughter Sofia has major feeding and digestive difficulties. She was a regular patient at the hospital and was also forced to travel to Christchurch for care.
The rebuild should go ahead as promised and be fit for the region and future generations, Munro said.
"It's short-sighted; the current plans are based on the projected need for the region in the future, and any cut to any area will have an impact."
Currently, the family had to travel 85km one way to get to the hospital, she said.
"It's a Southern region hospital and we're relatively close compared to some communities but we really do need to have access to those services in Dunedin. At the moment we're having to travel to Christchurch for some more specialist services, but we still need to be able to have them accessible as we require them."
Travelling out of the region to get care for Sofia had had an immeasurable toll on her family, she said.
"But family well-being comes first, so you would travel anywhere for your child, but it does take its toll in terms of family time and your energy as a parent."
A new hospital would mean staff could stress less about building conditions, she said.
"We were there, for example, for an out-of-town specialist appointment for my daughter. The specialist had travelled in, and it was quite substantial rainfall, and the building was leaking and there were buckets when we arrived, catching the water in children's play area.
"That's quite an important part of the process from my daughter, just being able to access the play equipment and it keeps her calm before her appointment."
Any substantial changes to the hospital rebuild would be short-sighted, she said.
"The 21st-century medical equipment is or has been rolled out already, so there is no easy way to do that, and it would be substantially more costly for New Zealand's taxpayers in the long run."
Regarding the suggestion that an entire floor of the hospital should be removed along with the geriatric services, she said lives were at risk.
"I don't think it's fair for any part of the health sector to have their services reduced in the capacity in the Southern region.
"Someone's going to miss out, mistakes are going to be made, and people are going to end up dying," she said.
"I mean, any cuts are disappointing. I understand these budgets to stick to, but we can't reduce any of the services across any of the different the services in in the Southern region, it's been planned for by the clinical staff, the experts and forecasting, so they need to listen to the people who are saying this is a bad idea."
In a statement, Health NZ head of infrastructure delivery Blake Lepper said the agency was "focussed on providing the health services the people of Dunedin and the Southern district need now and into the future".
"We are working urgently to develop options for New Dunedin Hospital that deliver modern, fit-for-purpose health facilities that enhance clinical safety and enable new models of care, that can be achieved within the budget set out by ministers."
Health NZ expected to present initial options, analysis and advice for ministers to consider in November, Lepper said.
In a statement, Health Minister Shane Reti's office said a number of options had been presented to NZ Health, but none had been endorsed or presented to any ministers.
"This Government is committed to building a new hospital for Dunedin and getting a very important facility delivered for the people of Dunedin and the south, after years of project mismanagement," a spokesperson for Reti said.
"Far from making 'cuts' to the budget, this Government has in fact provided an additional $290 million to further support this important project.
"Clinical input and advice has been and will continue to be very important as and when decisions are made.
"We do recognise the concern the public may have and want to reassure them that the Government wants to strengthen the delivery of public health services in the south.
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