Waipereira launches winter campaign
The Waipereira Trust is urging sick people to go to Waitakere Hospital for after hours medical care this winter.
Chief executive John Tamihere said some people were put off by the cost of going to a private after hours medical centre, and chose not to make use of the hospital’s emergency department either.
Tamihere said many people chose to stay at home until a cheaper alternative was available.
He said the June 1 launch of the campaign will see billboards across 11 locations in Waitakere encouraging people to make use of the emergency department at the hospital.
‘‘We don’t want a whanau member or anyone for that matter, to die or be hospitalised because they didn’t have the money for proper immediate medical treatment.’’
Tamihere said Te Whanau o Waipareira had an advocacy role in the community and the campaign was part of highlighting healthcare concerns for the west Auckland community.
Waitakere Hospital’s emergency department nearly doubled in size after a $9.8 million expansion in August 2016.
In its first year of operation in 2006, the department treated more than 25,500 patients.
This rose to 52,000 in 2015 and was the greatest increase in patient numbers of any emergency department in the country.
The extension saw the number of consultation cubicles increase from five to 10 and separate adult and childrens’ waiting rooms created.