Hospital economies

Press, 28 July 1989, Page 12

Hospital economies

Sir, —Of course! The obvious solution to the Area Health Board’s spending dilemma: close Christchurch Women’s Hospital. After all, hundreds of thousands of dollars have just been spent there to create the most modem and popular maternity unit in Christchurch. We could shunt obstetric patients out to the much older Burwood, which lacks the medical facilities to attend to special-care pregnancies, and spend millions to construct a base hospital obstetric unit at Christchurch Hospital, which currently has none. What sound economic thinking. Or perhaps we could leave some private health-care company to fill the gap. If we cannot afford to pay to have our babies we could be wait-listed at Burwood: “I’m sorry, Madam, you can’t have your baby in August, but we could fit you in on November 23.” What a bright vision for the future. Mj' thanks to Labour for pushing the Area Health Board into devising such a sensible option for our city. — Yours, etc., RACHEL SCOTT. July 23, 1989. Sir, —The Area Health Board has published some of its proposals for reducing expenditure by S3OM a year, as required by the Health Department. The possible closing of specialised hospitals such as Hanmer’s Queen Mary and Christchurch Women’s as well as homes for the aged and infirm such as Jubilee and Coronation, comes as a shock to most people. If proceeded with, the lives of thousands of people would be disrupted — patients (many of them aged and infirm), doctors, nurses, maintenance staff, friends and relatives of patients, as well as the large body of voluntary helpers in the community. Let the Area Health Board make economies where reasonable, but certainly not by closing needed, essential institutions. The price is too high— Yours, etc., L. R. BURGESS. July 26,1989.