Plans to turn the Lakes District Hospital at Frankton into an Integrated Family Health Centre (IFHC) are liked by nearly half of those who made submissions on the Southern District Health Board's (SDHB) proposed shake-up of Wakatipu health services.
But medical staff at the hospital oppose the model and the co-location of primary and secondary care services.
A total of 266 submissions were received, the majority from residents in the Wakatipu Basin.
According to a summary document released yesterday, almost half the submissions agreed with the proposed IFHC model, a co-location of general practice, hospital, community and mental health services.
Wakatipu Health Trust spokeswoman Maria Cole yesterday said the submissions showed strong support for community governance.
"I am encouraged that a number of issues were raised ... which the trust has been championing for some years."
Finance Minister and electorate MP Bill English told the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce yesterday that Queenstown, Invercargill a
nd Dunedin were the only hospitals in Otago and Southland still in public ownership.
The public-private structure worked, as private operators could run the hospitals with a more business-like focus than "bureaucrats", he said.
Lakes District Hospital was "permanently in financial difficulty", and a more "stable and sustainable" model was needed that patients could have confidence in.
The summary shows while about 60% of those who made submissions wanted community governance, some saw it as the board washing its hands of Queenstown.
Most were against having a GP run triage in the emergency department with non-emergency cases being treated by a GP and charged a fee.
Comments raised by some of those opposed to or unsure about the plan included a call for more research and information. Some said the model was not appropriate for Queenstown, was a monopoly and was profit driven.
They raised concerns about privatisation of the hospital, diminished access to free emergency care, and GPs with a conflict of interest running triage in the emergency department.
They also questioned why only one option was presented, and whether it was cost-effective and beneficial to patients.
The proposal for GPs to be the gatekeepers at the IFHC was opposed by nearly 40% of submitters. Most comments were around the conflict of interest this would create, and the fee.
The submission summary will be used by the SDHB management team in making a recommendation to the board, which is likely to make a decision on the future of Lakes District Hospital at its August meeting.
