Kāpiti Health Advisory Group spokesperson Ian Powell says access to health services in Kāpiti is difficult and getting worse. He says the Kāpiti Health Advisory Group is proposing a practical solution and they would like community feedback.
The Kāpiti Health Advisory Group (KHAG) have organised a series of public meetings to drive up interest in a Polyclinic for the Kāpiti Coast.
The Kāpiti Health Advisory Group meetings started in Paekākāriki on March 18 and in Waikanae on March 20.
Further meetings will be held at the Ōtaki Memorial Hall at 7pm on Monday April 7 and in Raumati at 2pm at the Uniting Church on Wednesday April 9 and then at 7pm at the Ocean Road Community Centre, Paraparaumu Beach.
KHAG have produced a report An integrated and innovative health service for Kāpiti which sets out a blueprint for expanding the availability of health services from Paekākāriki to Ōtaki.
The report sets out two key recommendations:
1. That Health New Zealand and Kāpiti Coast District Council enter into a joint memorandum of agreement to incrementally expand services at the Kāpiti Health Centre in order for it to evolve into the Kāpiti Polyclinic providing an integrated health service covering community (including primary), 24/7 urgent care, non-acute hospital diagnosis and treatment, and other support including telehealth.
2. That the implementation of this memorandum of agreement be co-designed and planned by Health New Zealand and Kāpiti Coast District Council in accordance with their respective statutory roles.
KHAG chairwoman Sandra Daly says each year more than 7000 people from Kāpiti had to make a 120km round to Wellington Hospital’s emergency department when they needed urgent care.
“Thousands more trips are made each year to Wellington, Kenepuru and Hutt hospitals for outpatient appointments and inpatient treatments that could be delivered in Kāpiti if the polyclinic was developed.
“The costs, time, public transport and park difficulties that these trips cause are a significant burden for many Kāpiti residents particularly young families and elderly people.”
The Report’s lead author Ian Powell says Kāpiti is the only New Zealand urban area with more than 50,000 residents where the nearest emergency and hospital services are nearly an hour’s drive away. He says a Polyclinic for Kāpiti is a practical solution.
For more see: www.khag.org.nz
