Health Cuts Hurt

Candidate's statements can be read by clicking their photo.

Health Cuts Hurt
PO Box 26-125
Christchurch

Health Cuts Hurt is a patient lobby group that has been campaigning for an open and democratic health care system for the people of Canterbury since 2003. When the Ministry decreed health funding cuts for Canterbury over the last three years, it was our team that protested for change. Now we are asking you to let our team heal the health of Canterbury.

Health Cuts Hurt believes that patients and the community must come first in terms of health care spending and priorities.

We have five candidates standing for election onto the Christchurch District Health Board. Heather Carter has been on the board since the previous election, but to help get our HCH policies to have any impact, we need more representatives, so make sure you rank our other candidates too. To read our candidates statements, click their photo.

We all know that health cuts never heal. Health funding cuts lead to the wrong sort of cuts to waiting lists, to Hospital land sales and industrial disharmony. Eventually health cuts lead to overcrowded Emergency Departments and the tragedies that can result.

What are the Health Cuts?

In 2003 the Government changed the way it funds district health boards to a system called Population Based Funding. The formula meant that the CDHB had to cut its spending by about $30m over the next three years.

Effects of the Cuts

• 2003 Queen Mary mothballed, land sale
• 2004 10,000 cut off waiting lists
• 2005 Canty needs a Charity Hospital!
• 2006 5,000 cut off waiting lists
• 2007 Industrial strife, surgery cancelled

In 2006, the CDHB was deemed by the Ministry to be overfunded and was required to pay back $17m to the Ministry of Health. Following pressure by our group and by the CDHB, the formula was changed so that by 2007, the CDHB was told it did not have to pay back the $17m

Health Cuts Hurt - campaigning for a fully publicly funded, open and accessible Canterbury health service.