DHB wants sponsors to help with debt

Sponsors are likely to be called on to help the MidCentral District Health Board make a dent in a forecast $9 million deficit for the year.

The DHB considered a draft sponsorship policy yesterday that laid down the ground rules for ensuring potential sponsors have goals consistent with a large health service and will not undermine the board's independence in commercial decisions.

But its capacity to actively seek sponsors is limited, because it is trying to rein in its spending, and cannot afford to create a new job.

Acting corporate services manager Mike Grant said while sponsorship was a potential revenue source for the board, it would have to work for it within its existing staff.

"The use of internal existing resources will mean efforts will need to be focused on two to three major items or events."

The board would also have to take care that sponsorship for capital items did not leave it carrying future operating costs it could not afford.

Chairman Phil Sunderland said the board needed to be kept informed about possible sponsorship deals, "so that we are not suddenly embarrassed by the nature of a sponsor".

The next steps are to finalise the policy and consider what items on the board's capital spending plan would be likely to attract sponsors.

The move toward encouraging sponsorship comes as the board today faces a grilling from the health select committee at Parliament about its financial position.

Chief executive Murray Georgel and Mr Sunderland are also meeting members of the National Health Board today to discuss MidCentral's financial recovery plan and find out what it has to do to be promoted from "performance watch" to standard monitoring.

- © Fairfax NZ News