Hospital fears spark protest

The Taranaki District Health Board has bought a fight with its plans that could see a significant downsizing of Hawera's hospital.
A series of public meetings are under way and more are planned across South Taranaki as the community rallies against the proposals.
And yesterday Whanganui MP Chester Borrows warned the health board that any proposal which did not indicate clear improvements in health services would be rejected by the locals.
The board plans include cutting the in-patient bed numbers at Hawera from 20 to six and at the same time cutting back the 24-hour, seven day a week cover by doctors at the hospital. That means one doctor would be on-call to cover call-outs between 10pm and 6am.
But Mr Borrows said the district had had a "gutsful of the uncertainty around health services in our patch".
"Over the years we have seen many changes and threats of changes with no tangible improvement.
"Every 18 months or so, messages from board management to Hawera staff and community indicate that they only begrudgingly offer services south of the mountain. Their message is they blame their inability to make ends meet on Hawera Hospital," he said.
Mr Borrows said the community's goodwill would not be undermined by "middle management minions playing ego-driven mind games" with the Hawera Hospital staff or the community.
However, Mr Borrows scotched any suggestions that final decisions had been made and said both the board and Health Minister Tony Ryall had said that would not happen until genuine consultation had taken place.
South Taranaki Mayor Ross Dunlop said the plan had two prongs - the first aimed at improving primary care services in the district "and that obviously has some merit".
But the plan to downgrade the hospital had upset people.
"There's currently a 20-bed in-patient ward there and it's being very well utilised," Mr Dunlop said.
He said on average the ward had 13 or 14 beds in use. As well, the Hawera Hospital had a five-bed emergency ward and four beds for maternity.
"What the TDHB is suggesting is a major downgrade for our hospital," he said.
Mr Dunlop said the driver behind this change appeared to be a move to "beef up" New Plymouth Hospital at Hawera's expense.
He said Hawera Hospital had 5.5 doctors on its staff but three of those were locums.
"We know that employing locums comes at a very big cost, something like twice the cost of a permanent doctor."
He was confident his council could play a major role in recruiting for permanent staff for the local hospital.
Mr Dunlop said the planned changes would have a major impact on the district and its 26,500 residents.
He said the Taranaki health board's attitude was in marked contrast to the Northland District Health Board, which was "hugely supportive" of its satellite hospitals in areas with much smaller populations.
 
THE DIAGNOSIS
Taranaki DHB plans for Hawera Hospital include:
- Cutting the in-patient bed numbers from 20 to six
- Cutting 24/7 doctor coverage to 16/7 with one doctor on-call between 10pm-6am
- Improving primary health services