Opotiki Health

Opotiki health services get major boost Te Tai Rawhiti MP and associate Health Minister, Hon Tuariki Delamere, today welcomed the agreement reached between Eastbay Health and Midland Health that will see an integrated health clinic open in central Opotiki by the middle of next year.

"This is tremendous news for the people of Opotiki and a clear signal that the scaremongers about health services are wrong," he said.

The agreement means Eastbay Health and the local Council can now press ahead with choosing a site from the three that have been identified and fasttracking the resource consents necessary before construction can begin.

The health centre will have a $740,000 annual operating budget and will provide 3 GP beds, 3 maternity beds and outpatient clinics.

It is expected the present hospital in Opotiki, which is costing hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to maintain, will be closed on June 30, 1998, then sold and the proceeds used to build the new centre.

Mr Delamere said "The new centre shows it is possible to move towards a much more integrated provision of health services in areas such as the eastern Bay of Plenty. It means health providers will be able to work together very closely, cutting out expensive duplication of resources, and it means health services will be much more accessible to the people of this area.

"I am delighted the people of Opotiki have been able to make this progress towards modern health services and I recommend other communities throughout New Zealand take a good look at what has been achieved here," he said.