Health cuts worry Presbyterians

Press, 22 August 1989, Page 9

Health cuts worry Presbyterians

By

DEBORAH MCPHERSON

The proposed cuts in community health service spending would put considerable stress on families and other community health agencies, said a spokesman for the Presbyterian Support Services yesterday. The organisation is concerned about options being considered by the Canterbury Area Health Board which, if implemented, would reduce community-health spending by $500,000.

The P.S.S. executive director, Mr Maurice McGregor, said this would

be inappropriate while more patients were being discharged into the community. The board will meet today to consider healthcut options, which it hopes will save $3O million by June.

Mr McGregor said P.S.S. disagreed with many points in the board’s taskforce recommendations about community health services.

“The taskforce states more emphasis will be needed on community health care and then proceeds to recommend that the small amount already spent in this area, about s2p million, could be re-

duced by $500,000.” The assumption is wrong that earlier discharges from hospital would mean the family, whanau or community health agencies will be able to provide the extra care, the submissions said.

“There is not the expertise, the co-ordination or the funding at this time for this to be done at all adequately.” Mr McGregor said research had shown that “money had to follow patients into the community,” otherwise the patients, particularly psychiatric patients, would end up back ijv hospital,

costing the health system further money.

New Zealand did not have a co-ordinated community health service funded by Government or local authorities. Instead it had been left to poorly funded church and welfare agencies to provide the back-up to hospital care.

The distribution of funding was also inequitable and had no rational criteria, he said. The P.S.S. was also opposed to taskforce options to reduce social work to rehabilitation or follow up discharged patients. Reducing social work would also cut vital pre-

fessional links with voluntary groups.

•The P.S.S. recommended no restructuring or reduction of community health services until a working party had reviewed the board’s community health services. The working party should comprise representatives from the Council of Christian Social Services, the District Council of Social Services, and the Social Welfare Department.

The P.S.I. would also petition the Government for further funds for the area health board, to give its management time to set up its new management structure. j