Sounds sensible
The Herald reports:
Primary health services are about to undergo their biggest shake-up in nearly a decade, shifting some hospital services into the community and creating new super-clinics.
The kinds of services the integrated family health centres might offer are expected to include minor skin surgery, referral to diagnostic imaging and consultations with hospital specialists. …
The Health Ministry has provisionally accepted nine bids from groups of PHOs and DHBs for devolution of some hospital services to primary care – they must remain free to patients – and the creation of integrated family health centres.
It all seems sensible, so I wonder why it hasn’t happened earlier.
Services provided by integrated family health centres could include:
* 24-hour accident and medical care.
* Laboratory collection, some on-site testing.
* Clinical psychology, counselling.
* Dental care.
* Midwifery clinics.
* Acute assessment and observation beds.
* Minor surgery.
* Consultations with specialists.
* Referral for magnetic resonance imaging.
It will be interesting to see one in operation.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:21 am
DPF: It all seems sensible
Sure, who can object to more government provisions? We’re only borrowing 240 million a week anyway.
[DPF: Where did it say this would cost more?]
February 8th, 2010 at 8:27 am
@berend
Of course it’s so much cheaper to do all this at a full surgical hospital ……………….. not!
February 8th, 2010 at 8:32 am
It’s really easy.
1. Research the staffing, costs, income and profits of privately operated 24 hour medical centres
2. Freeze funding of public facilities until they cost the same as privately operated ones
3. Review funding annually after that, increasing funding as needed
Only problem will be the law of unintended consequences. Damn law.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:05 am
There are no skilled medical staff.
Why would people whose skills are in demand world wide come to some slugdey little racially divided South Pacific island with an intolerable crime rate and a largely lazy unproductive citizenry who think the rest of the world owes them a living (and a health service)?
NZers have voted for mediocrity for decades and in terms of health, that’s what they’re going to get.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:17 am
There is one in Manukau already… been there for a few years now. does everything on the list as far as I remember, except for the A&E.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:55 am
DPF: Where did it say this would cost more?
My bad of course for thinking that more buildings, more people, more location, more cleaning, more land, more computers and more management would cost more!
And my bad for hearing people argue that an amalgamated Auckland City would deliver cost savings!
The reverse must true then obviously. So fast forward to 2050 where a vastly older DPF argues that a split up Auckland would deliver more value for its citizens and not cost more.
February 8th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Red, I appreciate your sentiment is based on despair at NZ ever achieving its full potential, but your statements are extreme.
We do have skilled medical staff. They are here because of family, and lifestyle choice. Strange as it may seem, some people love NZ.
Always being a knocker doesn’t help fix the problems. Think about it.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:07 am
So we centralise everything for efficiency and close down all the smaller hospitals, then we open clinics and decentralise the functions that minor hospitals used to perform, a brilliant use of resources, yes indeed, Minister.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:19 am
Good business model. They are being promoted as quality infrastructure investment – let’s hope a good revenue model.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:20 am
” We do have skilled medical staff.”
Not enough and of mediocre quality. Our hospitals are full of third world imports with doubtful training and skills.
” Always being a knocker doesn’t help fix the problems.”
NZ are fuckwits who need a good arse kicking to awaken them to the fact that everything that has befallen them of late is their own doing, and if they don’t wake up its going to get a lot worse. They kept Klark in power for nine years and now they’re equally besotted by another hapless socialist John Key.
While socialism is destroying this country and NZers (the ones that stay here) are voting for it in droves, there’s no way I’m going to back off from telling them I think they’re prize fucking idiots.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:31 am
As life expectancy keeps improving? The figures must be distorted by a few remaining non-Progressives that live on and on.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Oh gawd, the leg humping Dr Phil of Kiwiblog has arrived.
February 8th, 2010 at 6:39 pm
More than a few millionaire Doc’s around. Mostly in private practice. I guess that tells us somethin.