Scrapping of DHBS prompts

overlaying the DHBS is bold. And there will be four district offices placed in the regions, and I’m not sure how Marlborough and Nelson will fit into that,’’ Hope said.

‘‘My personal view is if there are going to be better health outcomes for New Zealanders, I’m fully supportive of it.

‘‘But I do have concerns about the size and scale of this one entity. Healthcare is delivered at a regional level; ensuring the regions are resourced to do that is key to seeing better health outcomes.’’

Hope, one of three Marlborough residents elected to the board, said the main reason he decided to run for his fourth term was to continue battling for the rebuild of Nelson Hospital, a prime example of why regional representation was important, he said.

‘‘That’s an absolutely urgent rebuild. It’s on a fault line, it’s aged, it’s not fit for purpose ... We’ve been working with the Treasury on this for years, and we’ve been pushed back on the level of cost ... What we wanted to build was not accepted.

‘‘So this centralisation is a big red flag, from a budgetary point of view,’’ Hope said.

‘‘From my experience, both with the [Marlborough District] council and the DHB, I know for a fact if you centralise allocation and distribution of resources, the regions miss out. When you don’t have someone at the table to fight on your behalf, you miss out.’’

He pointed to the proposed upgrade of Weld Pass on State Highway 1 south of Blenheim, ‘‘bumped down the list for years’’, as an example of how centralisation removed control from local decision-makers.

‘‘Larger-population areas will always be the priority.’’

For Blenheim’s Wairau Hospital, there were no particular services Hope feared could be reduced, as many of the specialist procedures already required patients to travel elsewhere.

However, Little’s announcement did not address Blenheim’s main problem of finding and retaining professional staff, especially in primary healthcare, Hope said.

‘‘That’s midwifery, GPS, nursing ... We’re just not training enough to replace the ones retiring, and there are lots of GPS due to retire in the coming years.’’

Nelson Marlborough District Health Board chairwoman Jenny Black said the announcement was not a surprise, with the changes signalled from the health and disability system review.

The reforms signalled would bring about national consistency and standards, and ensure the system provided better services for Ma¯ ori and vulnerable people, she said.

‘‘The system has been under huge pressure, and I think Covid highlighted a lot of that. Anything that’s going to provide better out