Team calls for ‘new faces’

Press, 1 September 1989, Page 7

Team calls for ‘new faces’

By

SUZANNE KEEN

Ths Canterbury Area Health Boar! is too often paralysed with indedsion and needs new faces, says the head of the Canterbury .Labour team contesting the board electkns, Mr David Close. Issues often dragged on for months until a crisis occurred and a decision finally had to be made without proper consideration, he said at the policy release function last evening. Mr Close said the Canterbury Labour candHates were not afraid to make decisions.

“My message is simple — it’s time for a change. The old Canterbury Hospital Board has been transformed into the Canterbury Area Health Board, but there is a great risk that although the name has changed, the system will remain unless we see some new faces.” Mr Close said better budgeting and setting of priorities was essential if the need for sudden cutting of budgets was to be avoided. The Canterbury Labour team agreed that some of the cost-cutting proposals were sensible and long overdue, but believed others, such

as the suggested closing of Christchurch Women’s Hospital, would result in an intolerable loss of service. The team would examine alternative ways of providing services, including the development of health centres in rural areas. A candidate for the Godley constituency, Ms Karen Guilliland, emphasised that the board’s focus in the future needed to be on community services, such as health promotion, education and maintenance.