In his article, Ian talks about the disestablishment of district health boards in July 2022, where the Kāpiti Coast District Council found itself the only remaining statutory voice for improved health service access for its residents. Although not a provider of health services, KCDC has a statutory role to promote the health and wellbeing of its population under the community wellbeing requirements of the Local Government Act. Consequently, the district council has established a health advisory committee, the Kāpiti Health Advisory Group (KHAG).
KHAG is working with KCDC to develop a “compelling case” on why we need more and better health services on the Coast. This will involve a detailed needs assessment and analysis of what we have, what we need and how to fill the gap.
The objectives are to integrate primary and secondary care, expand healthcare access through this ‘one-stop shop’, and reduce pressure on Wellington Hospital.
The focus is on delivering a wider range of services including 24/7 urgent care (not to be confused with an emergency department), a much wider range of hospital specialist outpatient clinics, relevant diagnostic services such as radiography, tele-health, beds for post-operative recovery where appropriate, and increased GP capacity.
Kāpiti’s population is expected to grow by more than 35,000 (to over 85,000) over the next 20 years. The council must consider planning to future-proof the health needs of this growth.
The article is well worth reading and can be found by clicking on the button below.
Thanks to Ian and Newsroom for allowing us to reproduce excerpts from this article.