Manawatu healthcare company says no to Wairarapa

A Palmerston North healthcare company has cited tough economic times as the reason for scotching plans to expand its rest home operation into Wairarapa.
Earlier in the year, Manawatu-based Dalcam Healthcare had expressed interest in building an aged-care facility in Masterton.
"We are very interested in establishing a presence in Wairarapa, but it is very early on in the planning stages at this time," chief executive Nicola Campbell said in May.
Yesterday Miss Campbell expressed regret at the company's withdrawal from the proposal and for losing "the opportunity to work together with such a supportive DHB in providing a quality aged-care service in Wairarapa".
"Unfortunately due to the current economic uneasiness combined with other large construction commitments, the future development for aged-care services in Wairarapa has become financially unviable at this time.
"Dalcam Healthcare had looked forward to becoming part of the Wairarapa community," Miss Campbell said.
The formal announcement comes as the Wairarapa DHB forecasts a continuing increase in the demand for continuing care and rest home beds over the next few years as the region's population continues to age, DHB spokesperson Jill Stringer said.
Occupancy rates for Wairarapa's 408 rest home beds remains high at 98 per cent and 94 per cent for hospital level care and rest home beds respectively, she said.
The proportion of people aged over 65 in Wairarapa is projected to rise from 18 per cent to 25 per cent within the next 12 years, up to 30 years ahead of many other parts of New Zealand, she said.
After research done in 2005 and 2006 the DHB asked for expressions of interest from rest home and hospital providers for the provision of more aged-care beds, particularly "continuing care" beds which need hospital level, rather than rest home level care, she said.
However, Glenwood Masonic have confirmed plans to build a new 54-bed facility in Masterton's Upper Plain Road, with four levels of care available from independent studio units to hospital level care, she said.