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 threeyears 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.
"Our rural communities are already facing losing their local voice and decision-making further with the health restructure. To have the care available in their rural hospitals reduced will be another blow.
"Our disabled and older people are also going to miss out, with the government looking to reduce who will be eligible for funding. Labour is also looking to reduce funding to GPs at a time when they are already at breaking point."
Little needed to "come clean" with the true cost of his health restructure in terms of the health of New Zealanders, he added.
"National is interested in health outcomes, not layers of bureaucracy, and is calling on Mr Little to rule out these cuts to health care services immediately."
