Canty health board takes control today
By
SARAH SANDS
The Canterbury Area Health Board takes control of public health services in Canterbury today with the issue of control of the South Canterbury area still unresolved. Earlier this year, the Minister of Health, Ms Clark, vetoed a move by the Canterbury and Ashburton hospital boards and health development units to become an area health board unless South Canterbury was included. Since then, discussions have been held with all parties, but the South Canterbury Hospital Board has remained adamant that it wants to form its own area health board. Four weeks ago, the GovernorGeneral, Sir Paul Reeves, signed the Order-in-Council establishing the Canterbury Area Health Board, without South Canterbury. It is expected that a decision on the status of South Canterbury will be made after the new regional boundaries have been announced
by the Local Government Commission. An area health board should allow greater co-ordination of health services in a region as it is responsible for all health services, and for health promotion. Hospital boards were responsible only for hospital services in their regions. The acting general manager of the Canterbury Area Health Board, Mr Ron Parker, said the public would notice little change today other than the disappearance of the organisations involved. Because of the financial problems facing the new area health board, the cost of the change-over had been kept small and there would be no celebrations, he said.
Only important signs would be changed and letterheads and stationery with the old logps would be used for internal correspondence — “nothing is to be wasted,” said Mr Parker.
The Ashburton Hospital Board was not overspent at the end of the last financial year but, like hospital and area health boards throughout New Zealand, it was faced with a 6 to 10 per cent reduction in its budget this year, he said. A final budget for the new Canterbury Area Health Board would not be known until about mid-July, said Mr Parker. Two members of the Canterbury Hospital Board — Mr Cyril Whitty and Mrs Janet Aitken — have volunteered to stand down to make way for two representatives of the Ashburton Hospital Board on the new area health board. The Canterbury Area Health Board is limited to 14 members, the same number as on the Canterbury Hospital Board. On a population basis, the Ashburton Hospital Board is entitled to have two representatives on the new area health board.
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Press, 1 June 1989, Page 5
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405Canty health board takes control today Press, 1 June 1989, Page 5
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