Alexander (Sandy) Milne

I congratulate local residents for the great turnout for the “Save our Obstetric Services” (SOS) gathering last Saturday.

What a response. Whole families attended on the day, and there was almost a party atmosphere. But what will happen next? A petition to Parliament?

Before rally attendees rush off to organise a petition, I remind them of what happened to our 2011 and 2014 petitions for the return of an equally vital healthcare necessity; a best-practice or even acceptable-practice Whakatāne Hospital-centred lab department for promptly diagnosing and managing infectious diseases in the entire Eastern Bay.

With over 4100 hard-earned signatures, including those of two mayors and our best doctors, plus the support of all 30 frontline Whakatāne Hospital senior medical officers, the 2011 petition was the most supported such petition in New Zealand history.

Notwithstanding all that, it was dumped by our then government.  The later (2014) petition from myself and over 100 women all of whom had been personally briefed on the harm dangerous bugs can do if not diagnosed and treated promptly with the correct antibiotic, also failed.

In an opinion piece in the Beacon last Friday, the day before the “health hikoi”, Dr Cath Cronin, the deputy chief executive of Health New Zealand assured us all that we are being listened to regarding the obstetrics and gynaecology problem.

She announced the appointment of a director to head a task-force overseeing management of the O&G problem and also that she will appoint a general manager for Whakatāne Hospital.

This, and other behind-the-scenes initiatives and activities we know about, such as the February 26 livestreamed Zoom meeting of experts in Whakatāne, persuades myself and like-minded friends to give her a fair go for a brief period. (I trust, but don’t fall asleep).

Our MP Dana Kirkpatrick virtually echoed Ms Cronin’s announcement on page 3 of the January 24 Beacon.

This is surely the change of heart from Health New Zealand which Whakatāne paediatrician Dr Chris Moyes called for in his Beacon letter on December 20.

Local mayors and other leaders were on to the Eastern Bay O& G problem two months ago, and Mayor Victor Luca has already had a two-hour meeting with a senior obstetrician from our hospital.

He has also had many articles on health issues published in the Beacon and national media since he returned to  New Zealand six years ago.

Dr Luca has opposed healthcare privatisation for years, and warned that we are heading down the path of an American-style health system.

I was therefore astonished to hear councillor Nandor Tanczos announce at Mitchell Park last Saturday, “We have won”,  referring to Ms Cronin’s announcement of the planned appointment of a Whakatāne Hospital manager.

The applause was generous, and he soon repeated the statement to an encore of claps.

Here is a reality check...
I tried to contact Ms Cronin to check the facts that very Saturday afternoon.  She was on leave.  However, I soon received the answers I wanted from a very reliable source.

It was that the appointment of a Whakatāne Hospital general manager by Health New Zealand was not the result of pressure from Mr Tanczos’ so-called coalition, or the rally (which had not yet taken place). I have a record of all the messages.

I read the half-page opinion piece by Mr Tanczos in the February 12 Beacon, in which he commented, “I am deeply disturbed at what has come to light since the closure of obstetrics and gynaecology services. It is apparent that a number of other departments are on the edge of collapse. We cannot allow this to happen”.

Many other Beacon correspondents have already expressed community concern at our downgraded health services as I have been doing for decades.

May we see hard evidence of Mr Tanczos’ efforts to tackle them in the recent past?

I make no apology to residents for revealing the documented facts.

I suggest that Saturday’s rally was less a hikoi for health, than Mr Tanczos’ well-orchestrated ploy for mayoral votes in the October 2025 election.

I encourage everyone to support our mayor and others who are working hard behind the scenes, where efforts are far more likely to lead to success.