Editorial: Health cuts will be painful for region

OPINION: Health service cuts for the people of this region seem inevitable as pressure mounts on the MidCentral District Health Board to balance its books. The DHB faces some incredibly difficult decisions.

Health Minister Tony Ryall has made it plain MidCentral must live within its means, and his eye to the long-term sustainability of health services in the region shows commendable leadership.

MidCentral's deficit of $8.9 million dollars must be tackled head-on and we must accept that doing so will incur plenty of pain. It's not a situation anyone wants, but it's the situation we face.

MidCentral has made some cuts already, including management reviews and the loss of 12 nursing and caregiver roles at the hospital, but it's clear a more drastic approach is needed.

It's all too easy to say costs must be cut, but yesterday's report in the Manawatu Standard gave a startling indication what the impact on services will be.

Confidential planning documents leaked to the newspaper reveal those cuts could affect in-patient beds at the Horowhenua Health Centre and rehabilitation unit at Palmerston North Hospital, as well as sexual health, renal and diabetes services.

As Palmerston North MP Iain Lees-Galloway suggested, cutting services at MidCentral would make a mockery of Mr Ryall's assurance when he became Minister that cost cutting at the country's DHBs would only target administration and back-room jobs. To be fair to Mr Ryall, though, he could be forgiven if he was not fully aware just how dire MidCentral's financial predicament was.

All this leads the DHB to the invidious position of having to decide which particular health services will have to go, knowing full well there is no avoiding a significant human cost.

Mr Ryall's stance has been firm and unambiguous from the outset, and the dilemma the health board faces will only get more drastic the longer those tough decisions are delayed.

Something's got to give, and we should all be bracing ourselves for a reduction in health services when it does.

One more thing: Good on FMG for taking on call-centre workers made redundant at Sitel, and rallying other local call centres to do the same. As reported in today's Standard, the rural services company has offered positions to some of the 32 workers who were made redundant, describing the move not as charity but as good business sense.

But what it also shows is a business that has a strong community conscience and it's great to see a local business supporting local people when they need it most. The former Sitel employees are skilled call-centre workers and it'd be a shame if they were lost to the region. Good on you FMG, that's a fine example of true Manawatu spirit.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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