Laws wants details - now | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

Whanganui District Health Board member Michael Laws has lodged an urgent Official Information Act request, asking to see a raft of correspondence, emails, memoranda and policy papers pertaining to the regional women's health service proposal being debated by the board.

The proposal outlines plans for having up to half the births handled at Wanganui Hospital transfer to Palmerston North Hospital. The main reason given is to cover a critical shortage in some areas of the maternity service.

Yesterday Mr Laws sent his request to Whanganui District Health Board chief executive Julie Patterson.

Last Friday's board meeting deferred its decision until March 2, after asking for additional detail on the proposal.

Mr Laws said he made the request because he believed the board should be able to assess the quality of policy-making and policy creation that led to the proposal.

He said at the joint committee meeting (February 10) and the board meeting (March 17), those attending were disappointed with the quality and quantity of information that was tabled.

"Given the significance of this proposal that lack of detail was surprising," he said.

"All those involved in putting this proposal together have good academic pedigrees and would understand the need for good research.

"But given that it hasn't come in that form to the board twice now, I'm keen to see if the motivation [of management and clinicians] is personal, political or philosophical."

Mr Laws said there could be a good case for the changes being promoted, but the information provided did not support it.

"Is this a case of facts not being there to back it up or has someone simply got a bee in their bonnet?

"What we want to see is facts and figures," he said.

Among the information he had requested was all communications between the authors of the review, including Ngan Kee (regional clinical director of women's health), Mark Stegmann (consulting obstetrician/gynaecologist), Cheryl Benn (regional midwifery director), Murray Georgel (MidCentral DHB CEO) and Mrs Patterson.

He also requested copies of all communications sent by both boards to the Ministry and the Minister of Health and a copy of all internal memoranda and emails communicated after the WDHB workshop in December, including reaction to it.

He is seeking copies of all communications on the proposal between the chief executive and chairman of the WDHB as well as all internal communications between both boards on the proposal from September 1, 2011.