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By John Keast - A pot of gold is available for Ashburton health services – possibly upgrading a theatre or creating a new one at Ashburton Hospital – if donors can get a cast-iron assurance elective surgery is here to stay. And public support for such a project will help lock in Canterbury District Health Board support for elective surgery here. Up to $1.5 million from community contributors, including the large estate of an Ashburton woman could be available for a health-related project. The issue has gained gained new urgency with confirmation that Canterbury District Health Board will axe 24/7 acute surgery at Ashburton Hospital from November. Ashburton general surgeons Philip Godfrey and John MacDonald have been working to future-proof surgical services at Ashburton. Both are nearing retirement. After November, all acute (urgent) patient admissions to Ashburton Hospital will be handled by an acute team in Christchurch and medical officers in Ashburton. If a person requires urgent surgery during the weekend or outside working hours, they will be transferred to Christchurch. But the CDHB says it remains committed to surgery at Ashburton, with most procedures elective, or planned. The changes at Ashburton Hospital have provided an opportunity for Ashburton lawyer Gary Fail, a partner in Russell Moon Fail. He is trustee for the large estate of an Ashburton woman who asked that the residue of her estate be used “for such worthy purposes associated with hospital treatment and care in Ashburton (for which district health board or government funding is not normally or readily available) particularly involving the provision of or upgrading of equipment or new facilities or such other worthy purpose associated with Ashburton Hospital and all of its various functions”. Mr Fail and estate manager Bruce Day have met Canterbury District Health Board chiefs to discuss the situation. He said that, as trustee, he was not prepared to commit all of the estate to the one project, and some of the estate's money could be channelled through Advance Ashburton, a perpetual charitable trust benefiting the Ashburton district, for other projects. Other local charitable trusts have also indicated support for the health project, meaning $1.5m – or more if the project gathers community support – might be available for a suitable hospital project. Mr Fail said discussions with the CDHB indicated it wanted all of the estate money, but had been told not all of the money should be committed to a single project. But with the backing of the charitable trusts, one of which indicating $250,000 might be available for such a project, and community support, there was an opportunity to create a state-of-the-art-theatre (or theatres) in Ashburton for elective surgery. If that could be achieved, and Mr Fail believes it is possible, Ashburton Hospital might be able to offer yet more services. “The question might be asked that if the CDHB is, as it says it is, committed to surgery in Ashburton, why doesn't it just get on with it and fund the theatre upgrade itself? With government funding assistance, a large number of elective surgery theatres are to be built in Auckland, so why not build two for the Canterbury health board area at Ashburton? “After all, the axing of the acute surgery in Ashburton must have saved the CDHB a veritable pot of gold in expenditure. “ The answer to the question above is that a convincing contribution could be seen as a strong response from the people of the district, saying what they wanted. Furthermore, by contributing financially to a theatre upgrade, Ashburton could demand more of a commitment from the CDHB,” Mr Fail said. Also, without such a community initiative, there could be some doubt that the theatre upgrade/elective surgery push would happen at all. A steering committee of interested people has been formed with a view to collecting funds and raising the profile of the issue. The committee has written to the board seeking confirmation of a proposed new operating theatre and is awaiting a reply. Mr Fail said the funds in the estate were building with accumulated interest.. CDHB chief executive David Meates said the board was adamant that Ashburton should remain a strong elective surgical service as part of the Canterbury health system. Ashburton. Ashburton Mayor Bede O'Malley supports the project. |
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