The Invercargill City Council yesterday announced it would back the "They Save We Pay" campaign for the new Dunedin hospital, standing united with its Dunedin counterparts in the fight for essential healthcare services.
The government announced last month the planned redevelopment would either need to be cut back or completed in stages due to a budget blow-out.
Speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Mr Clark said the proposed cuts to the budget to reduce the overspend of the hospital project would affect more than just the people of Dunedin and Otago.
"The Dunedin Hospital provides a vital lifeline to everyone across the Otago and Southland regions. On any given day it’s estimated that up to a quarter or so of all patients in the hospital come from Invercargill, Southland and Waitaki, so it's imperative that we show our support against the proposed budget cuts."
Many people across the region had friends or family members who had travelled to Dunedin for surgery or other medical issues, Mr Clark said.
He recently spent time himself in Dunedin Hospital after undergoing heart surgery at the start of the year.
"So I understand how essential these services are to our city.
"And it was staggering - in the the two weeks I spent there, the majority of people were not from Dunedin and I had so many people commenting that if they had needed to travel to Christchurch for their medical needs, they would probably not be here."
The Southland region already coped with a lack of GPs, nurses and midwives.
"Back in the day, they intentionally built the Southland Hospital smaller, and the government said it would put more money into primary care.
"This never happened and now we have a hospital which does not attend all our needs and we are also struggling with the primary sector."
Mr Clark said building a new hospital was paramount for the South. While he understood that $3 billion sounded like a lot of money, he was sure there were ways to reduce that and choices the government could make in order to get the necessary funding.
He pointed out the government had guaranteed this project during the pre-election period.
"This is a promise which has been 16 years in the making.
"There is nothing more important for an ageing population than keeping them healthy and alive — so the government needs to keep its promise."
The council would support and promote the campaign through a number of activities and initiatives aimed at encouraging the public to sign the "They Save, We Pay" online petition and make submissions to the government, he said.
