Canterbury Mornings

There appears to be mixed feelings in the South Island over the Government's announcement all of the 20 District Health Boards will be replaced by one, single national health body.It will be called Health New Zealand and is part of the biggest changes to the country's health care system in history.And a new Māori Health authority will also be set up, with the power to commission health services and monitor Māori health, as well as developing policy.Canterbury DHB member James Gough has slammed the changes.He said he's concerned for how this will look for the rural health sector."Ranfurly isn't Rolleston and Auckland isn't Christchurch so having that local understanding of the needs of the community, I think, is really important."It's a one size fits all approach and they generally don't work."Gough said he does not believe this is the way forward for the public system."The changes we are seeing or what has been proposed seems incredibly costly, radical, and not founded on good advice but potentially damaging