Palliative care provision in Upper Clutha region

IN addition to Russell McGeorge's letter on Saturday, July 23, regarding the Upper Clutha Hospice Trust and palliative care provision in the Upper Clutha region, we would like to further reassure the community that Otago Community Hospice plays a very active role, providing specialist palliative care to people dying throughout Otago.

This includes a dedicated team in the Central Otago and Upper Clutha regions.

We support people to die in the place that they and their whanau feel safe and supported, whether that be their own home, an agedcare facility, a rural trust hospital or the hospice inpatient unit (in Dunedin).

This includes the Upper Clutha Hospice Trust's palliative care room at Aspiring Enliven in Wanaka, as well as the room at Golden View supported by the Cromwell community.

Excellent hospice and palliative care requires a multidisciplinary approach by a team of specially trained professionals.

The hospice team in Central Otago and Upper Clutha includes three care coordinators and a clinical nurse specialist, who are all experts in symptom management, a palliative medicine physician, a counsellor, a spiritual care worker, a social worker and night carers for those who are nearing end of life at home.

They work closely with local GPs and district nurses, agedcare providers, allied health providers and the amazing team at Dunstan Hospital.

Patients, family, whanau and providers have access to a 24/7 helpline which enables them to talk with a specialist nurse, or a doctor if required, at any time.

We are very present in this community, and continue to work hard to deliver specialist palliative care, alongside the Upper Clutha Hospice Trust and others in the region to ensure those with terminal illness can live and die well.

Christine Pacey (team leader) and Dr David Butler (palliative medicine physician) and the Central Otago team of the Otago Community Hospice Otago Community Hospice — Central Team, Cromwell

Three Waters

IN a recent announcement our prime minister stated that the local control ‘‘status quo’’ of New Zealand’s water supplies has to go — as though ‘‘status quo’’ for anything was unacceptable. She gives no sound reason for this draconian change in ownership but we all know why. Jacinda Ardern will be satisfying more of her socialist political desires whereby having all of our water resources under the control of Wellington, the central government will have even more control over the populace. It’s as simple as that. I hope the Dunedin City Council, and indeed the vast majority of municipalities, recognise that Three Waters amounts to no more than governmentsanctioned theft of water assets from local communities and they would be abandoning the interests of local ratepayers if they don’t have the common sense and courage to tell the Government to jump in the lake. If they do not, they will be complicit in this nationwide government hijacking.

William Lindqvist

Abbotsford

Positive headlines

IN this day and age where there is so much doom and gloom, and plenty of bad news to report, is it too much to ask for a positive headline when there is something to celebrate?

I am referring to the headline (ODT,

26.7.22), ‘‘Ko, Alker fall short in respective majors’’. Would it not have been so much nicer to read on this wet horrible morning ‘‘Ko and Alker both finish excellent 3rds in top majors’’. Let's have glass half full and not half empty Otago Daily Times?

Marilyn Noye

Dunedin