DHB urges elderly to `look after yourself'

Alex Hickey Hawke's Bay District Health Board has a message for many, mainly older patients - take responsibility for your health.
The Hawke's Bay Hospital is running at "full capacity" and nine elective surgery cases have been postponed in the past few days because of the influx of acutely unwell patients.
The board's medical and surgical manager Alistair Ayto partly points the finger of blame at patients with a chronic illness not wanting to "bother" their GP with medical problems.
Mr Ayto said people needed to "help us" by going to their doctor if they felt unwell. Many of the patients had put off going to their doctor and waited until they were seriously ill before seeking medical attention.
"I urge people to seek medical advice early to nip problems in the bud before they get so sick they have to be admitted to hospital," he said.
Around nine elective surgery cases had to be postponed because the hospital was full of people with chronic conditions.
"What is frustrating is that many of the people currently in hospital could have avoided being admitted if they had done something to address their health problems sooner, and I can't stress strongly enough the importance of doing so."
Mr Ayto appealed to families and neighbours to keep an eye on the health of older people, especially those living alone or in a retirement village.
He had a simple message for patients - "don't delay", and seek medical advice from the GP.
Tukituki National party candidate Craig Foss said the DHB should blame the Government, not the elderly.
"Mr Ayto's comments are further proof that Labour's health policy is sick," he said.
It was a shortage of funding, not a shortage of beds that was hurting Hawke's Bay's most vulnerable citizens.
"The Labour Government places a higher priority on Wellington bureaucrats, hip hop tours, the Treaty industry and politically-correct nonsense than the elderly," he said.
He was also suspicious of the district health board's claim that the hospital was "full to capacity".
If there were any closed wards they should be opened to accommodate the influx of patients, he said.
Hastings and districts Grey Power president Ted Duffill said doctors' fees had increased recently and many elderly people could not afford to go to their GP every time they had a "sniffle".
Patients should not be blamed if there was no room at the hospital because there were not enough beds provided in the first place.
Mr Duffill said the "chickens were coming home to roost" with the closure of Hawke's Bay's satellite hospitals in Wairoa, Napier and Dannevirke adding even more pressure on the hospital in Hastings.
However Hastings Health Centre practice manager Hayley Anderson said the centre strongly supported the idea that patients should always see their GP first unless it was an emergency.
She said the practice was no busier than usual for this time of year and had the capacity to see more patients.
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