Farewell to Waitemata cardio bus

A one-stop mobile health shop will be off the road from March after its funding was cut by the Waitemata District Health Board.

The Wellness out West bus has provided cardiovascular screening services around Waitakere since 2007.

But board spokesman Philip Grady says a review of the HealthWest intitiative shows it isn't reaching the people it was originally intended for.

Mr Grady says the service cost $261,000 last year.

"It does not provide value for money as based on the number of people seen," he says.

"The cost of treating someone with low GP contact, at high risk of cardiovascular disease, who subsequently went on for treatment, is nearly $7000 per person."

Mr Grady says funding will be shifted into other areas in order to meet Health Ministry targets for cardiovascular screening.

"We believe the residents out west would like us to provide value for their health tax dollars and prefer
us to spend money on services which benefit as many people as possible," he says.

"For instance, we are extending Waitakere Hospital emergency services 24 hours a day by the end of next year."

HealthWest spokeswomen Angela Verhoeven is disappointed with the decision.

"This means that two staff may face redundancy unless we are able to re-deploy them elsewhere," she says.

"But HealthWest believes there are a number of possibilities for the use of the bus in other areas of its health services.

"And before we make any final decisions on what the bus is used for long term, we will be talking with some of our key stakeholders about the various options over the coming weeks."

Anyone wanting to use the bus service one last time can visit it at the Westpac bank, 362 Great North Rd, Henderson, before February 9.

- © Fairfax NZ News