Dunstan Hospital is funded by almost $8,000 thanks to the Central Otago District Council, but there has been no contribution from Queenstown Lakes for years - despite the Clyde-based hospital being used by patients from the Upper Clutha.

The Central Otago Health Incorporated (COHInc) board recently decided that adding another Wānaka member would be beneficial, given the Wānaka area is the single largest population served by the hospital.

But when Leigh Overton of Wānaka made a submission to the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s (QLDC) annual plan last month, requesting just $1,500 to cover annual transport and meeting costs, and proposing a second Wānaka board member, he got no response. 

Leigh believes the Upper Clutha needs to contribute to funding and not be subsidised by Central Otago.

This was his second attempt to seek funding from the QLDC and prior to that, former COHInc board chair Ainsley Webb tried for years without success. 

Aimsley made a point of submitting on behalf of the board in person to the Annual Plan hearings in Queenstown every year, and Leigh submitted via Zoom last month.

QLDC provided a statement in response to the issue when prompted by the Central App this week, saying that funding or providing health services was not part of the function of local government.

“The Queenstown Lakes District Council received a number of applications for funding to support health services through its recent Annual Plan process. However, councillors unanimously agreed that it was not appropriate for QLDC to be investing in this area.”

Dunstan Hospital is not fully-funded by central government like the Lakes District Hospital in Frankton, which has full support of the Southern District Health Board (now Te Whatu Ora Southern).

The board has to find an additional ten per cent of its funding locally, and this includes funds for its hospital assets, such as a CT scanner and expanded secondary services.

COHInc board chair Tracy Paterson, also a CODC councillor, said they were thankful to the CODC for its support, but disappointed that the QLDC has still chosen not to be part of it.

“We feel quite passionate about Dunstan Hospital and the great work that it does, and we owe it to the community to get the best deal possible.”

Dunstan Hospital has been operating in Central Otago since 1863, but during the 1990s the Otago District Health Board intended to close it. A compromise was reached to lease the hospital’s buildings to an operating company, and the hospital’s assets would be funded from the communities that Dunstan Hospital serves. 

COHInc was formed in 2000 to retain ownership and management of these assets. It also appoints directors to, and monitors the performance of, the community-owned, not-for-profit company Central Otago Health Services Ltd (COHSL) which is responsible for providing Dunstan Hospital’s secondary services.

The modern, purpose built Dunstan Hospital facility, extensively refurbished in 2005, features a 24 acute-bed inpatient ward (including a three bed high dependency unit) and after hours GP services, but no emergency department.

Leigh said most people didn’t realise that Dunstan Hospital was favoured over Lakes District Hospital for Upper Clutha residents, because it was easier to access, enroute to the primary base hospital in Dunedin, and set up as a secondary unit to triage patients. 

COHSL employs more than 130 staff and contractors in a range of health disciplines and support services at Dunstan Hospital, who provide secondary health services, such as cardiology, oncology, chemotherapy, physiotherapy, x-rays and ultrasound, to around 25,000 people living in the wider Central Otago and Wānaka regions.