Like a Wellington gale, the Save Our Southern Hospital campaign hit the Beehive today.

A Southern delegation headed by New Zealand Nurses Association delegate and registered nurse Linda Smillie, Mayor of Dunedin Jules Radich, Dunedin City Councillors, Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher and Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark delivered a petition to Parliament.

The petition by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation calls on the Government to reverse cuts to our new Southern hospital. It has been signed by more than 34,000 people.

This morning, Cliff the Ambulance parked near Parliament, where he was joined by a contingent that included Councillor Bill Acklin, who led the party in singing his “Save Our Hospital” song as the Southern delegation then delivered the petition to the steps of Parliament, where it was received by MP Rachel Brooking around 12.30pm.

Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich says, “We may have taken our message to the seat of power today, but this campaign is far from over.”

“It’s vital for all 350,000 of us in the South that the Government listens and builds the hospital it promised.”

“The people of the South fully realise how important this issue is. Remember, 35,000 people attended the march in Dunedin in October.”

“We then activated ‘Cliff’ the ambulance, a key focal point in our campaign. From visits to Balclutha, Gore, Invercargill and Central Otago to his more recent journey the length of the South Island, Cliff and his drivers have been warmly received by residents far and wide,” Mr Radich says.

“And now Cliff is in Wellington, bringing our campaign directly to the Government’s doorstep.”

The Southern Hospital services the largest region of any tertiary hospital in New Zealand. It trains thousands of health professionals – for all of New Zealand – and has the capacity to train more.

The old (current) hospital has “concrete cancer”, unsuitable column placement and ceilings too low for modern equipment. It’s simply not suitable for 21st-century care.

Retrofitting the old hospital, as recently suggested by the Government, would be more expensive, more disruptive and add years to the project completion.

It could cost as much to downscale the new hospital as it would to build it as promised. Also, changing the design would only result in further delays, estimated at $110,000 a day.

“We cannot overestimate the impact a downgraded hospital would have on health outcomes for people across the South. Decisions made now will have implications for decades to come,” Mr Radich says.

“We will continue to press home our key message – build it once, build it right.”

People who want to support the Save our Southern Hospital campaign can find resources and ideas on the soshospital.nz website, where they can send a digital postcard to the Ministers, buy a campaign t-shirt, donate via Givealittle and follow Cliff’s adventures on Facebook (facebook.com/soshospitalnz) and Instagram (instagram.com/sos.hospital/).

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