Tauranga widow's push for A & E medical centre in Pāpāmoa reaches Parliament

July Killalea heads to Parliament this week in her fight for a 24-hour A & E medical centre in Pāpāmoa East. Photo / Sandra Conchie

The fight for a 24-hour medical centre in Pāpāmoa is heading to Parliament and a Tauranga widow says she is determined her funding plea will not fall on deaf ears.

Judy Killalea's husband Michael, 75, who died on September 24, 2016, suffered from a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for several years, then was diagnosed with cancer.

When his arm began swelling in late September 2016, Judy said they were faced with a 25-minute drive from Pāpāmoa to Tauranga Hospital.

"Michael told me, 'let's wait until morning, as it's too cold and too far go," she said. He died soon after.

Killalea, 72, who lives in Pāpāmoa East, launched a petition in July last year calling for an after-hours A&E medical centre in her area and collected 3400 signatures.

Her petition was tabled in Parliament in March and today Killalea flies to Wellington to talk to members of the parliamentary Health Select Committee.

Killalea admitted to feeling "a bit nervous".

"But I'm ready to go into battle for this community. I have started this so I mean to see it through to the end. This needs to happen with some urgency," she said.

"Pāpāmoa is one of the fastest-growing suburbs in the country and our current population of about 27,000 is expected to grow by 14,000 in the next two or three years.

"I'm not doing this for myself, or even because of Michael's death, I'm doing it for all those who signed the petition and shared their stories with me. They're depending on me and I'm determined to make this happen."

Bay of Plenty National MP Todd Muller, who launched a similar petition, said he will be at Parliament to support Killalea and address the Health Select Committee.

"It's completely unacceptable that a city of nearly 140,000 people has only one after-hours accident and emergency medical clinic in 2nd Avenue," he said.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board's primary care portfolio manager Andre Baker said based on visits to Tauranga Hospital's emergency department it raised questions whether such a clinic in Pāpāmoa would be sustainable.

Baker said the DHB and the Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation were in dialogue with a range of interested parties about what future health services in the region might look like.

"We will continue to progress this work as part of the health planning for the region."

A Ministry of Health spokesman said the Ministry was continuing to work with the DHB as it monitored and responded to population growth in the region.