WDHS chairman Chris Swann, its chief executive Robert Gonzales, and deputy chairwoman Helen Algar presented the health company’s half-yearly report to the Waitaki District Council this week, and also fielded questions from councillors on the ongoing contract negotiations with the SDHB.
Mr Swann said he was confident a deal would be in place before the current contract expired on June 30, but he also had "some level of comfort" funding would remain in place beyond the end of the current contract if negotiations took longer than expected.
Last year’s review, which would create a "new model of care" for the Waitaki district, had already resulted in two new "clinical leadership roles" at the hospital as well as the establishment of a swing shift for staff.
"It’s a continuum in terms of [getting] a clear picture [of the new model of care]. But we can start working with it before we get to the end of that continuum. We can start modelling it."
Mr Gonzales said technology had been installed at the hospital this month to allow for greater use of telehealth, as prescribed by the review.
"The system is now in place and we are now starting to talk with the services to see which services can start the remote practice," he said.
The SDHB proposed 5% funding cuts for its rural hospitals in April 2015, and WDHS was the only rural hospital to resist a new contract with the annual funding cuts imposed.
In April last year, before negotiations began, bed numbers at the hospital were cut from 30 to 24. Hospital management cited ongoing underfunding and warned the service cuts were a ‘‘starting point’’ in the face of the funding cuts proposed by the SDHB.
Yesterday, Mr Swann said he believed there would be no further bed cuts in Oamaru once the new contract was in place.
