Grey Power President, Kevin Burrows says “We hope to see as many people as possible at the presentation of the Petition…”

Worth the effort

By Roger Childs

It makes plenty of sense for a community of 40,000 – 50,000 to have its own hospital.

The Kapiti area is 50km from the big Wellington regional hospitals in Lower Hutt and Wellington, and currently the access is not straight forward.

The Petition to have a hospital in Paraparaumu, where land is available, garnered 22,500 signatures showing the huge support for a massive upgrading of medical services on the Kapiti Coast.

Hand over

The Petition will be presented to the politicians on Parliament steps

• Tuesday 12 June
• 12 noon

Kapiti folk are being urged to be there to show support for the proposal.

Many are catching the 10.30 train from Waikanae.

Priorities – short term and long term

Many would argue that, in the short term, there are much higher priorities in the health sector such as increasing funding to DHBs and upgrading existing buildings that have fallen into disrepair.

However, there is a compelling case for a long term commitment to building a hospital on the Kapiti Coast.

With the completion of Transmission Gully in 2020 there will be continued population growth in the region and an increased demand for convenient, hospital services.

The Hospital petition has been enthusiastically supported by the Mayor and Council in a welcome demonstration of community unity.