National's health spokesman Dr Shane Reti has called on Health Minister Andrew Little to rule out cutting rural health services to pay for his comprehensive reforms.
Reti aired his concerns in response to a letter, unintentionally given to National by the government, stating that Little's priority for the next three years was implementing his restructuring plans, "which is worrying enough given we are in the middle of a global pandemic and a Covid-19 vaccine roll-out that has fallen far behind the rest of the world," and spelled out which services he believed could be cut to save money.
They included cutting specialist services and reducing the scope and function of rural hospitals; cutting subsidies to health providers serving high-needs populations (such as Māori, Pasifika and high-deprivation areas); reducing access to residential care for older New Zealanders (such as rest homes, dementia care, or continuing care at hospitals); restricting eligibility for access to disability services; and reducing funding to GPs.
"The fact Labour is willing to cut frontline health services like these shows exactly where its priorities for health really lie," Dr Reti said.
"Its radical plans have nothing to do with improving the health of New Zealanders, and everything to do with centralising decision-making and adding more layers of Wellington bureaucracy.
