Piles driven on the site of the new Dunedin hospital inpatients building. The hospital's new outpatient building rises behind. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN
The petition from the New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki O Aotearoa called for the new hospital to be fully funded as planned.
The government said in September it was looking to scale it back to reduce costs.
In a statement, Nurses Organisation delegate Linda Smillie said the proposed downgrades were a false economy.
‘‘A scaled-back hospital will increase costs over the long term because it will reduce the clinical capacity to care for an increasingly ageing population.
‘‘Nurses will not be able to provide the appropriate level of care their patients need.
‘‘This will lead to patient harm and loss of life.’’
The coalition government must fund the full new hospital as was promised, she said.
— APL
