Now is the time to fix our health system.
So says Malcolm Mulholland of Palmerston North, who is taking a giant petition-style declaration around the country.
The Buller Declaration was launched last month, in the wake of a public outcry in Buller over leaked Health NZ plans to cull after-hours medical and GP services.
Originally from the West Coast district, Mulholland said he had experienced the difficulty of accessing health services there as he was assisting his elderly father.
He is leaving 3m-long lined pages to be filled with signatures at each stop.
One page left at Te Whare Whakatere on Wednesday last week had partially filled, with about 130 signatures by Tuesday morning.
‘‘I would like to see there being a massive injection of funds into the next year’s budget for health, so that we can employ more doctors and nurses,’’ Mulholland said.
He got an idea of how well supported the document would be in Ashburton when he first brought it to Te Whare Whakatere.
Mayor Neil Brown was the first signatory, followed by Deputy Mayor Liz McMillan and district councillor Carolyn Cameron. They all agreed the health system was in crisis.
‘‘I have been told for years the larger population is ageing, and it’s now happened, governments haven’t been proactive enough to do anything about it,’’ Brown said.
McMillan said Mid Canterbury was like many rural areas in that it was short of doctors and pharmacists.
Cameron said rural areas were disproportionately affected, due to the difficulty of attracting health professionals.
Within minutes the page had its first signatures from the public.
Bonnie Pakinga of Ashburton was one of those early signatories.
‘‘I think it’s about time,’’ she said of action being taken. As a mum she had found the health service lacking.
