DUNEDIN HOSPITAL UPDATE

Despite the words of the new Minister of Health (reported in this issue of The Specialist), the fight to retain the original design from the New Dunedin Hospital continues to escalate with a ‘fighting fund’ established by Dunedin City Council to oppose changes.

On January 31, council voted to allocate $130,400 to fight changes to the city’s new hospital design which will see it open with fewer operating theatres, beds and MRI units.

The Council motion came after ASMS reported on concerns from members about changes to the hospital design in December 2022, due to a $200 million shortfall in funds. Clinicians and district leaders have outlined the negative impact these reductions in capacity and services will have.

While the Government has committed an additional $110 million to fund the shortfall, the Minister has now said no to the remaining $90 million.

Dunedin City Councillor David Benson-Pope put forward the notice of motion at the meeting and urged council to stand up against changes to the hospital.

He said the debate was about health decisions not being driven with the best interests of the community at heart.

“Redesign equals risk and redesign also equals risk of considerable extra money and further delay,” he said.

“Any change in the size or scope of new Dunedin Hospital and any demand for significant redesign with accompanying consultant costs and demands on clinical staff time will have a widespread negative effect on the reputation and expectations of the new Dunedin Hospital project and facility.”

Also on the chopping block is a bridge between the outpatient and inpatient buildings, along with the non-clinical pavilion building which would have increased workspace for staff.

Te Whatu Ora chief infrastructure and investment officer Jeremy Holman said the removal of these design elements was a substantial part of the costsaving measures.

A petition calling for the rollback of any proposed cuts had reached almost 2,500 signatures at the time of print.

ASMS Executive Director Sarah Dalton said doctors, nurses and the community deserve to have the hospital design arrived at through four years of consultation.

“Costs have risen but costs always rise,” Dalton said. “It will never be cheaper to build than now and the hospital should be built to the standard clinicians felt best matched their model of care for Dunedin.”

MOST PEOPLE DON’T SEE THE DENTIST

And Cost Puts Them Off

More than 70 per cent of adults put off visiting a dentist due to the cost of treatment, a new Association of Salaried Medical Specialists survey reveals.

Following the release of ASMS’ Tooth Be Told report, which makes the case for universal dental care in New Zealand, Talbot Mills Research was contracted to conduct a nationwide survey to discover dental and oral health care habits.

The results show 72 per cent of people put off visiting a dentist due to costs, while only 43 per cent of people visited a dentist in the last 12 months.

More than a third of respondents said it had been longer than two years since their last visit.

Last year, ASMS found evidence that the average EFTPOS payment per dental visit was $353.

“Dental care is unaffordable for many New Zealanders,”