Questions on hospital land sale at Wiri
Questions are arising over a health board’s procedures in a land sale to the Crown.
Thirteen hectares of land at Counties Manukau Health’s Wiri site will make way for up to 250 new houses, it was announced this month.
A heated exchange unfolded during the September board meeting over a ‘‘secret meeting’’ the public wasn’t told about.
Board member David Collings asked chair Dr Lee Mathias why a special meeting three weeks prior, on August 17, hadn’t been notified.
The board’s regular meeting agendas contain topic headings in the confidential section and reasons why they are held out of the public’s ear. Collings asked why the same process wasn’t followed for the special meeting, believed to be on the land sale.
‘‘It’s like it was a secret meeting that no one knew about...why was it put into confidential? No one will tell me.’’
Mathias described the meeting’s contents as ’’sensitive’’ with part of it involving consultation.
‘‘But David, was [having the meeting confidential] going to change the outcome?,’’ Mathias asked. ‘‘...it will become public after this meeting.’’
Speaking after the meeting, Collings says the process felt rushed. ‘‘Why couldn’t it wait for the normal board meeting a few weeks later?’’
He asked whether big decisions should be made before elections. The public’s feedback might not have been considered properly as it was given to the board to look at without it being analysed by staff, he says.
‘‘It’s not the role of the directors on the board to address feedback, we consider the analysis and either agree or disagree. We owe it to the people that made submissions, otherwise what’s the point in consulting?’’
Speaking for himself, Collings says he is not against the land sale.
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says it ‘‘made sense’’ for DHBs to release surplus vacant land in some cases ‘‘as it allowed them to reinvest the proceeds into new or upgraded health facilities’’.
Mathias says the remaining land could be used for an expanded surgical centre, as well as radiology and community health facilities.