Penny Simmonds: Southlanders to Pay for Dunedin Hospital Cuts

Southlanders could pay dearly for cuts at Dunedin’s new Hospital, National’s Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says.

“We’re already living with the devastating consequences of a hospital in Invercargill that’s far too small for the Southland population – now Dunedin has lost 23 beds, two operating theatres and an MRI scanner.

“Southlanders are increasingly being flown to Dunedin for life-saving medical intervention, as our own hospital falters.

“We must have access to a regional hospital that can service our population – we cannot afford more waiting lists, more delays and possible loss of life.

“It’s almost beyond belief that the Government is repeating in Dunedin the mistakes that it made in Invercargill in 2002, when Southland’s own hospital lost 30 beds.

“Dunedin Hospital is the major trauma centre for Southland. We need every bed and every space in this new hospital. We do not need the Government short-changing local people.

“Instead of focusing on front line services, Labour has pursued a costly bureaucratic restructure which will cost around half a billion dollars.

“In September, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she wanted Dunedin hospital ‘to meet local needs’. I wonder, is this the sort of Christmas present she wants to give the people of the South?”