Board drops medical centre support

THE South Canterbury District Health Board says Twizel cannot sustain two medical practices and has withdrawn its support for the Kurow Medical Centre’s satellite clinic in the township.

As of Monday, the clinic, established by Dr Tim Gardner, was not permitted to see enrolled patients but was still within its rights to operate as a private clinic.

The Kurow Medical Centre has a contract with Wellsouth Primary Health Organisation to provide primary care services in the Southern District Health Board area.

The contracted district health board provider for primary care services in the Twizel area is the Twizel Medical Centre, which was opened in 2016 and is owned by the High Country Medical Trust.

The Kurow Medical Centre applied to both health boards in October 2017 to operate a satellite clinic within the South Canterbury geographical area, which was agreed to.

During that time the South Canterbury District Health Board, High Country Health Ltd directors, a rural GP based outside Twizel, an independent rural healthcare specialist and New Zealand Rural General Practice Network Dalton Kelly worked on a sustainable healthcare model for the Twizel area.

It was found that given Twizel’s small population, the operation of two medical centres was not sustainable.

South Canterbury District Health Board officials held a meeting on the issue in Twizel on Monday, to inform the public about the reasons behind its decision to cut ties with the Kurow Medical Centre’s Twizel practice.

Information handed out a the meeting said the health board did not want to see its preferred provider become ‘‘unviable’’.

‘‘Introducing additional, funded providers can in some cases give patients increased choice and create competition which can drive improvements. However, in an area with the population of Twizel the result of an additional provider would lower enrolments at Twizel Medical Centre, the current contracted provider, such that it would be made unviable. Thus, the above benefits of choice and competition are not achieved.’’

Dr Gardner said the decision was the health board’s ‘‘considered opinion’’ and the issue was a ‘‘bigger question’’ than sustainability, specifically ‘‘patient choice’’.

Patients could still visit the clinic that was no longer be publicly funded.

However, they could not enrol at the clinic or receive services subsidised by district health boards.

Patients would still have access to services at Timaru Hospital.