Wairarapa Plan for Community Hospice

By KATTERNS, Tanya

WAIRARAPA residents have voted overwhelmingly in favour of exploring plans for a community- owned and operated hospice.

More than 600 people, upset by health chiefs moving to axe Te Omanga Hospice in favour of taking over the palliative care role itself from September, packed the town hall in Masterton on Monday night to debate options.

They backed a plan by hospice fundraisers to do a study to determine whether a standalone privately funded in-patient hospice could be achieved.

“It has happened in other small areas, and there is no reason why that can’t be achieved if the will and community drive is there,” Te Omanga Hospice fundraiser Suzie Adamson said.

Meanwhile, Wairarapa health chiefs are trying to stitch together a deal with the sidelined Te Omanga in the hope of drawing on the hospice’s specialised skills.

Wairarapa District Health Board, which has defended its move by saying it was about expanding services rather than saving money, says it is negotiating with Te Omanga to continue to provide medical specialist input and 24-hour telephone advice.

It is also discussing the possibility of leasing the Te Omanga house in Lincoln Rd as the base for the new service.

Te Omanga chief executive Biddy Harford said that, if it agreed to the deal, Te Omanga could provide weekly clinics using its specialist doctors.

“We want something there to provide that specialist cover and if it means we agree to a contract to do that ourselves, the people will be looked after.”

The hospice was still unhappy with the decision to have its service closed. “Our service closes on August 31 and we will merely be contracted. The effect of that means that we won’t have the hands- on nursing service care we have provided to patients and their families for the past decade.”

The new service — to be named the Wairarapa Palliative Care Service — would fully absorb Te Omanga’s current roster of patients at their homes or in contracted beds in private hospitals.

(c) 2008 Dominion Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.