Woodhouse critical of ‘push poll’

NATIONAL MP Michael Woodhouse has rubbished a ‘‘push poll’’ conducted by the Labour Party about the Dunedin Hospital rebuild.

Respondents were asked if the Government’s 2027 completion timeframe was acceptable, and 72% said no.

Mr Woodhouse said the premise of the question was false, as respondents were told the Government estimated a 2022 completion date.

The need for the full rebuild only emerged this year, Mr Woodhouse said.

‘‘It’s a push poll.

‘‘It’s designed to attack the Government and make Labour look good and it’s probably done what they thought it would do,’’ Mr Woodhouse said.

Mr Woodhouse, a list MP, is the party’s Dunedin North candidate.

He said the public had been confused by ‘‘misinformation’’ in the media about the rebuild.

Asked about Dunedin Hospital patient care issues, he said he heard just as many positive stories about people’s care.

Mr Woodhouse, tipped as a future health minister, did not rule out changes at the troubled Southern District Health Board.

‘‘That’s a conversation we could better have next week,’’ he said when asked if there could be changes at governance level.

He questioned whether the health funding formula was sufficiently transparent.

‘‘What worries me is the Ministry of Health struggles to communicate how the formula is made up and it’s a bit black box.

‘‘I think that can be a difficulty for people to understand whether or not they are getting treated fairly.’’

Dunedin North Labour MP David Clark said the survey results reflected what he heard every day from people.

‘‘People are concerned by the current state of Dunedin Hospital and are wanting to see construction start on a rebuild as soon as possible — not in five or more years.

‘‘No wonder 90% of [1773] survey respondents said the rebuild should be a priority (38.6%) or a top priority (51.0%) for the Government.