Pressure increasing on cash-strapped health sector

Confirmation that Waikato DHB will have to cut $25m from next year’s budget is further evidence that Government under-funding of the health sector is set to have an impact across the country, says Labour’s Health spokesperson Maryan Street.

The DHB will discuss how it will cut $25m from its budget behind closed doors when it meets on Wednesday.

“Coming on the back of similar belt-tightening in Hawke’s Bay, Mid-Central, and the Bay of Plenty, it highlights just how squeezed these agencies are. The screws are going on and the Government can’t argue otherwise,” Maryan Street said.

Hamilton-based Labour MP Sue Moroney says locals will be extremely worried: “Last year emergency department admissions grew by 8 per cent at Waikato Hospital, yet Government funding didn’t match the growth in demand.

“Axing ‘back office’ staff only led to more pressure on those dealing with patients first-hand last time round, and there is enormous concern from front-line staff that the size of these cuts means they will be among the victims,” she said.

Maryan Street said unless the Government prioritised primary health goals and focussed on keeping people healthy, rates of unnecessary and costly hospital admissions would continue to increase.

“Doing away with frontline staff is a short-term solution that will have major ramifications. We need to be making better funding decisions when they matter. When costs start cutting into safety margins there is something really wrong with the system,” she said.