PHO reverses community radiology decision

Staff are delighted by the reinstatement of old eligibility criteria. Photo / NZME

Radiology services in the Tararua district have returned to being free for those who cannot self-fund.

Tararua Health Group announced the decision via social media last week and operations manager Samantha Chapman said she was delighted.

"Thanks to the fantastic work of our community, mayor, local MP and hugely dedicated team members within the Tararua Health Group, the local Primary Health Organisation (PHO) is reinstating the old eligibility criteria for radiology services," Chapman said.

The criteria for eligibility for free Community Referred Radiology Service was changed in March to only those within the region who had a Community Services Card or were Maori or Pasifika.

The change was only for one contract - all others, such as the need for urgent radiology, were provided under a different programme.

There were fears the x-ray equipment at Dannevirke Community Hospital would be under-utilised under the eligibility criteria. Photo / NZME

However, there were concerns in the community that the cost of radiology services meant Dannevirke, and the Tararua district, could potentially lose the service.

Deborah Davies, operations executive for Primary Public and Community Health, said improving access and equity for those in the community was a key priority for MidCentral and THINK Hauora.

She said new access criteria was recently trialled for community-delivered radiology services, with the aim of better supporting those in need in the district within a sustainable service.

"When this was implemented, we committed to closely monitoring the impact of this approach."

Davies said MidCentral and THINK Hauora had listened to the feedback from rural communities and agreed that community-delivered radiology services would return to being free in the interim for all patients in the Tararua, Horowhenua and Otaki localities.

She said this would remain in place until a review of radiology access was completed.

Tararua health group's post gave heartfelt thanks to everyone who dedicated their time and effort to getting the criteria reinstated.

"Words cannot describe what this means to our team. It shows how much we can do as a community when we stand together in the face of adversity," the post said/

The post noted that change might still be on the horizon through the review.

"However, we have been heavily involved in this process and are hopeful any future changes will meet the unique needs of our Tararua community."