Another attempt at name for Starship

By MARTIN JOHNSTON

Starship children's hospital may be renamed yet again.

Auckland District Health Board members are considering having another crack at finding an acceptable name after causing an outcry with their first two attempts. It could become Starship Children's Services, or simply Starship Children's at the board's public meeting next Thursday, board member Margaret Horsburgh said yesterday.

Last Friday, the Herald revealed the board had called the country's top paediatric hospital the Children's Services of Auckland City Hospital.

After a public backlash and a caution from the Government, the board altered the name on Monday to Starship Children's Department of Auckland City Hospital. But that riled doctors and fundraisers almost as much as the previous version.

Doctors said that by converting it to a department of another hospital the board showed it wanted to weaken the specialisation of the four hospitals that will make up the new City Hospital: Starship, Green Lane, Auckland and National Women's.

Board managers reject the claim, but say the level of high-tech services must be debated publicly.

There was a mixed reaction yesterday to the latest naming ideas.

"What's wrong with Starship Children's Hospital of New Zealand? That's what the public have just said they want and that's what the staff will continue to call it," said Starship intensive care specialist Dr Liz Segedin.

Clinical leader Dr Scott Macfarlane welcomed the latest suggested names, but said he preferred Starship Children's Health.

Dr Horsburgh said: "Maybe department is not the right word. It clearly hasn't helped the issue that people have about the separate identity for children's services. We made the decision about department rather quickly over the phone."

The board did not want to offend. "We want to get it right."

Chairman Wayne Brown said he too would be happy to drop "department". It was used because it could not be a hospital, since it was part of another hospital.

Prime Minister Helen Clark and Health Minister Annette King this week urged the board to listen to the community. But Mr Brown said: "The minister was quite wrong when she said we have to do consultation."

He wanted talks with the fundraising Starship Foundation, but said the foundation should have alerted the board to any sponsorship deals that would be affected.

Foundation chairman Bryan Mogridge welcomed the prospect of talks and said it was better not to comment on the name suggestions beforehand. Asked if the foundation had any basis for a legal challenge over the renaming, he said it was logical to resolve the matter through discussions.