Q&As from the Takaka and Collingwood Open Day Feedback Forms

• How much is it going to cost?
• Who is going to pay for it?
• What fund raising do you plan to do within the GB community?

The cost will depend on which site we use and what site and road works are required.  We have not publicised any figures because we do not want to influence a tender process.  The capital cost will be paid for from the proceeds of the contributing sites, a prudent level of borrowings that can be serviced from income, and - if required - some nationally raised funds from charitable and other sources.  IMG has no intention to raise funds in the community through sausage sizzles and the like.

A big focus of the IMG is to ensure that the integrated facility is well structured with adequate capital and ongoing income.  It is one of the reasons this project is taking some time to complete - we don‚t want to make hasty, ill-judged decisions.  Integration offers efficiencies not available to three stand-alone businesses, and this ensures the viability of each of the services that may not otherwise be possible.

It has never been the intention for Golden Bay people to be faced with this.  The structure of the trust is currently being considered.  However it has always been envisaged that the integrated service would receive funds in exactly the same way and from the same sources that the existing services do.

The three contributing organisations (rest home, medical centre and District Health Board) all need to agree to the final proposals.

The DHB does not provide either rest home or primary health care and is only one funding agency for health care in Golden Bay.  Funding also comes from a variety of other sources including patient/resident fees, the Primary Health Organisation, Accident Compensation.  We are still looking at trust structures and how funding can best be channelled into the integrated service.  

We have signed agreements with three of the GPs to become employees of the integrated facility and we are negotiating with the other GP. However integration of health services is important to ensure the ongoing sustainability of existing services in Golden Bay particularly rest home beds.

Integration in health care is happening in different ways all over New Zealand.  The Golden Bay proposal is unique in bringing together the medical centre, rest home and community hospital.

We are unaware of the comment and there is certainly no intention of withdrawing any services from Golden Bay.  We are working positively with staff regarding integration and making good progress on resolving concerns.

The IMG knows that access to radiology services is an important need for the community and one of the issues IMG will be looking at is how we continue to provide radiology services for Golden Bay.

There is no draft agreement as yet.  However commercial contracts of this type are not normally made public.

IMG will not be entering any such agreement.  A legally formed trust and/or the other funding agencies, which contract NBPHO services, would enter such agreements.

There is no such draft contract as yet but it would be expected the parties to the agreement would seek professional advice.

Such "escape" protection mechanisms are normally written into contracts on the basis of performance requirements.

The current plans are still preliminary but we feel confident we have thought through this issue.  We have already sought input from staff of each of the facilities and will shortly be holding a workshop where staff will get together to ensure the building will function optimally. 

At this stage we are looking to provide a continuation of existing services in a more efficient and effective way than is possible through the operation of three individual services, to help the current level of funding go further.  While we have a wish list of facilities and services, we need to work through a process of prioritising.  Staff are very much involved in helping us do that.

At this stage we are looking to provide a continuation of existing services in a more efficient way.  We do not have the resources to expand the level of care currently provided.  By integrating hospital and rest home services we will be able to use the beds available more flexibly.

All three sites are still under active consideration and we have been talking to the relevant authorities to identify potential issues and ways of resolving them.

The current plans are still preliminary but we feel confident we have thought through this issue and anticipated the number of people using the facilities. We have already sought input from staff of each of the facilities and will shortly be holding a workshop where staff will get together to ensure the building will function optimally.

Integration aims to ensure we preserve existing services.  As now, if a new mother requires hospitalised after care, it will be available

Part of our planning for an integrated service has focused on the expected increase in the number of elderly people who will need care over the coming years.  The preliminary sketch plans have been drafted on the basis of integrating the level of services provided by the three existing facilities while providing for expansion for each of the areas as the need arises.

Our current integration plans do not include complementary health care, but there is no reason it could not be considered in the future if it made sense and was financially self-sustaining.  We believe the integration proposed is already sufficiently complex to manage for the time being.

The current preliminary sketch plans are simply that.  We will undergo a formal tendering process for the project.

We will consider that as our planning for the project becomes more detailed.

St John is part of the integration to the extent that the facility will be receiving its ambulances.  However there is no need for St John's storage and training facilities to be located within the same site.

The feedback so far shows there is good public support for integration but people want to know more about how it will work.  An analysis of the results show:

• A strong majority of respondents support the concept of integrated health care for Golden Bay.
• Based on current information a majority of people believe the hospital site is the most logical for an integrated facility.
• People strongly believe it is essential to preserve rest home care in Golden Bay and that an integrated facility is a sensible and attractive option, though a number of people would still prefer the Joan Whiting facility to remain open, whether or not integration proceeds.
• There are some concerns about how a community trust would operate, based mainly on the current lack of information about capital and operating funding of an integrated facility.  Concern is also based on the financial problems faced by the Joan Whiting Memorial Trust and a belief the community might have to meet any shortfall in funding from that received from government and other sources.

Over the next few weeks IMG will be continuing to evaluate site options and will be bringing together staff of the hospital, medical centre and rest home to work through how an integrated facility can best function.  We will continue to keep the community informed about progress on a number of project streams.  Once it is in a position to present a more finalised proposal on the project, we will report back to the community, through a public meeting/s and other communications.

The Open Days and the media and website information have provided people with updates and the opportunity to ask questions and in turn the community has given us some valuable feedback.  When we get a bit further down the track we will be reporting back to the community through a public meeting/s and other communications.

We acknowledge that, for commercial reasons, the community has not seen the financial detail that underpins the business case.  The whole premise for integration is based on the ability to achieve efficiencies from integrating services.  IMG would not be considering such a proposal unless it made good financial sense.

When we get a bit further down the track we will be reporting back to the community through a public meeting/s and other communications.

The Open Days and the media and website information have provided people with updates and the opportunity to ask questions and in turn the community has given us some valuable feedback.  When we get a bit further down the track we will be reporting back to the community through a public meeting/s and other communications.

We don‚t think the considerable time invested largely voluntarily by members of the Integrated Management Group and its forerunners is wasted, given the strong support the people of Golden Bay are showing for integration.  This is a complex project and IMG makes no apologies for taking time to carefully consider each of the issues involved in bringing together three separate health care providers.

The integrated service will receive the same funding from the same multiple sources as occurs now.  The purpose of integration is to retain existing health services in GB by ensuring they operate more efficiently, through economies of scale, than they can individually.

Yes