Rehab beds safe for the moment

Horowhenua Health Centre's 24 rehabilitation beds are safe for the moment, says MidCentral District Health Board chief executive Murray Georgel – and there'll be no change without a proper review and community engagement.

But while local Labour MP Darren Hughes welcomed the reassurance, he's urging the Horowhenua community to stay vigilant.

So far about 468 people have signed his online petition to save the beds, and Horowhenua Grey Power continues to collect signatures as well.

The threat to the beds emerged when confidential papers were leaked from a board workshop in February considering options to save money in the face of a forecast $9.9 million deficit.

Mr Georgel said the beds were an important part of the district's health services.

But with finances tight and a series of reviews so far failing to achieve the level of savings needed, the board had made it clear "that no stone is to be left unturned in the search for more efficient health services".

He said one option for Horowhenua could be that some of the beds could be reclassified from rehab beds to rural beds. That would give GPs the ability to admit local patients directly. That was something the community had wanted, didn't currently have, and would require less intensive monitoring than assessment, treatment and rehabilitation beds.

The board's decision on whether to formally review Horowhenua services was at least another month away, he said.

If a review was undertaken, there would be engagement with staff and the community.

Grey Power health spokeswoman Margaret Robins said Mr Georgel's comments reinforced the message that changes were afoot.

The need for the rehab beds was well established, with 95 per cent occupancy, she said.

With a growing elderly population and a dearth of community health professionals, that need would only grow.

Mrs Robins said that with 1000 Horowhenua people unable to enrol with the district's already "under siege" GPs, it was hard to imagine how those GPs could be expected to increase their role in staffing hospital beds.

Mr Hughes said the Horowhenua community should not rest until the board made a public commitment to keeping the hospital beds.

"The people of Horowhenua will keep speaking out strongly in favour of local health services as what this has shown is that if we take our eyes off the ball we'll be facing cuts.

"The immediate and strong reaction of the people in the Horowhenua has shown that they won't take cuts to services lying down and will remain vigilant until a final decision on the matter has been made," Mr Hughes said.

- © Fairfax NZ News