Elective Surgery Will Benefit From Health Funding Boost
Health funding of $78.9 million is heading south after the Budget 2020 announcement.
Over four years this will provide the Southern District Health Board with an extra $315.5 million to meet the needs of residents in the DHB catchment – which includes Invercargill, Fiordland, Queenstown Lakes, Central Otago and Dunedin residents.
The funding was part of a record investment in DHB’s that was announced by Health Minister David Clark earlier this week.
Labour MP Dr Liz Craig said the funding would cut the long waits for elective surgery that she was advocating for when she first entered Parliament.
“Today’s record investment in health will make a huge difference for the people of Southland,” she said.
“Not only will this extra funding allow the DHB to begin catching up on the elective surgery and procedures that were delayed by COVID-19, but it will also put the DHB on a more sustainable footing moving forward”.
Liz said the announcement was also an opportunity to acknowledge the incredible work done by the Southern doctors, nurses and other health professionals, over the past few weeks to care for their patients and to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Ministry of Health announced no new COVID-19 cases in the Southern district today. The region’s total remains 216, with seven active cases, 207 now recovered and two deceased.
In the Southern district it has now been 26 days since a new case was reported.
Southern DHB medical officer of health Dr Susan Jack said the seven remaining active cases were spread throughout the district.