That comes through Waitaki District Health Services Ltd (WDHS), which is wholly owned by the Waitaki District Council on behalf of the community, the only such company to be owned by a local authority.
The company's formation dates back to the 1990s, when health services and Oamaru Hospital were under threat through restructuring by the then Healthcare Otago.
A public outcry culminated in 1991 in a protest march by an estimated 13,500 people and a petition signed by more than 12,000.
Almost a decade of uncertainty followed, including the loss of the Waitaki Hospital Board in 1993. That saw hospital services gradually run down, including the loss of inpatient surgery in 1994. By 1997, all operations requiring anaesthetic had ceased and the maternity annexe was closed.
Eventually, the community obtained a contract with the then Government Funding Agency for health services for the Waitaki population.
The "hospital on the hill", opened in December 1872, had become too large and costly to maintain for the modern health services proposed.
An innovative plan was conceived by architect John McKenzie, incorporating the historic Middle School in a modern complex near Takaro Park in the centre of Oamaru. The council established WDHS to own and run the new hospital and the Government was approached for funding.
In 1998, the Government announced a $5 million suspensory loan towards the hospital, which opened on June 28, 2000. In 2007, the loan was written off.
Today the company has assets of $12.5 million and turnover approaching $11 million a year.
Most of its income comes from the Southern District Health Board (SDHB), which contracts the company to provide health services for the whole of the Waitaki district.
The company structure includes the independent Waitaki District Health Services Trust, which now has assets of about $3.5 million.
Those assets and income from investments provide equipment, help with capital projects and pay for services above those contracted with the health board, including the purchase of a computed tomography (CT) scanner.
