Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark is right behind the They Save, We Pay campaign protesting cuts to the new Dunedin Hospital, alongside the Dunedin Mayor.
Jules Radich is heartened by the strong support he is seeing for the community campaign, including 10,000 signatures on the NZ Nurses Organisation petition.
“It would be easy for decision makers in Wellington to think they might wait for the hospital issue to blow over, but it will not. It’s time for the Government to look after the people of the South,” Mayor Radich said.
The They Save, We Pay campaign is calling for the Government to reverse cuts to the hospital design and deliver the full suite of services and facilities, as promised in the Cabinet approved Detailed Business Case.
Mayor Clark said he was the only Mayor in the South supporting the campaign, and it was in the best interests of Invercargill to get behind it, because so much of its own hospital relies on the backup of Dunedin.
Not only does Dunedin Hospital provide backup for emergencies, when demand has reached capacity in the south, patients can be transferred north, and they also have access to more specialised care.
Southland Hospital has lodged its own case due to the shortage of theatres and an emergency department extension, and that is currently sitting with Health NZ (Te Whatu Ora).
But previously approved plans for the upgrade at Southland Hospital have recently undergone some design changes.
Southlanders will now have to wait for Health New Zealand to approve the improvements at a national level, although it’s unclear when a decision will be made.
This was also as a result of cost cutting in the past when the first hospital upgrade was completed.
“We have our own issues as well, that sits in the natural pile of $6 billion,” Mayor Clark said.
Mayor Radich said the Government might want to save some money now, but the people of the South will be paying for years to come with a hospital that is less than fit-for-purpose.
“The solution for the Government is to build it once and build it right,” he said.
He is encouraging concerned residents to have their voices heard. The DCC is providing a set of resources at the They Save, We Pay campaign website to assist the community to have their voices heard.
“Write to your MPs, write letters to the editor, sign the NZ Nurses petition. We need to show them how much we care about this hospital and remind them how closely we are watching this issue,” he said.
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