Localising health already under way, Ashburton mayor says
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Health Minister Shane Reti says the Government will shift more health decision-making back to the regions, but Ashburton’s mayor believes it is already under way.
District health boards were scrapped 18 months ago to form Te Whatu Ora/Health NZ in a bid to end geographical differences in healthcare.
Reti said the reforms went too far in removing local decision making.
"There are some parts that need to be owned by the centre [Te Whatu Ora], absolutely, but we need to be very careful because what has happened here is we've lost local accountability.
“We've lost local decision making and it's all owned by the centre."
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said he believed a move to localise health was already happening under the current model.
The council doesn’t do health, its role is advocacy, but they have been involved in setting up a locality for health, Brown said.
Localities are part of the shift to the Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand system, aimed at delivering place-based planning for health and wellbeing services.
“We have been working with other councils to set up a locality for Mid-South Canterbury,” Brown said.
Ashburton is working with the Timaru, Waimate and Mackenzie councils, and local rūnanga to form a locality.
“To do localities you had to have council on board. We have the four mayors on board and our iwi Arowhenua ... all heading in the same direction, all wanting the best services for everyone.”
Whether the locality model would be retained under the new Government was yet to be seen.
However, Brown said the work had progressed to a point where it would work with Reti's suggestion.
“If it’s not called a locality we can still progress with it as a region.
“I think they will work quite well and have local people making local decisions for health from the Rakaia River to the Waitaki River.”
Reti stopped short of saying he would reintroduce district health boards and Brown questioned if the DHB model was that localised.
The Canterbury District Health Board was Christchurch-centric and rarely had elected members from Mid Canterbury, he said.
The council’s advocacy work is also looking at extending Te Rūnanga o Arowhenua’s Whānau Services into Mid Canterbury, which would happen under the locality system, Brown said.
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
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