West Coast DHB appeals to regional council for help with patient transport
From local democracy reporter Lois Williams:
The West Coast District Health Board is appealing to the West Coast Regional Council to support a public transport service between Greymouth and Westport.
Since 2012, the Buller branch of the Red Cross has run a community health shuttle for Westoport people with medical appointments in Greymouth.
But Red Cross throughout the country is moving out of providing patient transport and has given notice that the service will end next year.
DHB chairman Rick Barker told Friday's board meeting that the regional council was the organisation responsible for public transport.
"Currently there is none between Westport and Greymouth. Thus is an opportunity to approach the regional council about [starting] a reliable service that would work for the public and patients and the DHB."
Regional council chairman Allan Birchfield said the council would be open to the idea.
"It would need to be subsidised, and it would have to work in with one of the freight services to be viable. You could have a bus or van with freight in the back and passengers in the front."
Birchfield said he already floated the idea with one of the Coast freight operators.
"That's as far as it's got - it's early days but it is something the council will be looking at."
The West Coast DHB has an agreement with Red Cross to provide a small financial contribution toward the running costs of the vehicle it uses for the Westport to Greymouth shuttle.
The Ministry of Health subsidies patient travel through its National Travel Assistance scheme, but generally only patients referred for specialist appointments are eligible.
Think You Know It All? Try Solving This First!
How can you make 30 using only the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 with each number only used once?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
The Riddler wants to hear from you! 🎉
Our daily riddles have been a fun way to start the day and spark some friendly competition, but we’re thinking about mixing things up—and we’d love your input!
What do you enjoy most about the riddles? Is it the brain-teasing puzzles, the themed photos, or the big reveal in the afternoon?
If you could tweak one thing, what would it be? Maybe you’d like harder riddles, different themes, or see riddles in a different style or format!
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Your ideas could help shape the next chapter of our riddles! 🧩
Are you keeping it old school?
We know that things come back around, look at vinyl records!
Do you still use any old-school technology (like landlines or VHS tapes) at home?
Let us know in the comments.
Loading…
