Plunket forced to sell off properties, cut services

Plunket has been forced to sell off some of its family silver and cut community services due to chronically inadequate funding.

The not-for-profit organisation offers health and wellbeing support for tamariki aged under-five and their whanau.

The outgoing chief executive, Amanda Malu, told Breakfast the situation is “as bad as [it] can be”.

“There’s just been years and years and years of under-funding for our services and that compounds,” she said.

“It got to the point that at the moment, we are having to sell off some properties and reduce services in order to make sure we can cover the costs of that core service everyone knows and loves - our Plunket nursing service.”

Malu said stopping the popular PEPE parenting courses in June was among “one of the really heartbreaking decisions we’ve had to make”.

“It was costing us $400,000 a year to run and the reality for us was we couldn’t afford to do that [without having a] shortfall in our main piece of work, which is that child Plunket nursing work that everyone’s so familiar with.

“When you’re robbing one to pay the other, the people that end up missing out are our whānau and that’s the saddest part of all.”

Plunket nurse Judith Baker said while the nurses are used to forming connections with the families they work with, “sometimes we can’t get in when we’d normally get in”.

“The nurses sort of feel that they’re letting people down but they don’t want people to feel that they’re missing out because we have lots of other options or offerings.”

Baker said while some services have been cut, she encouraged whanau to access other available services and to reach out if they have any concerns.

“It is challenging times but we are doing the best that we can with the resources they have.”

Malu said the organisation has jumped through “more hoops than I can possibly count and remember to demonstrate the true cost of delivering our service”.

The Government offered a 3% funding boost - in line with other healthcare organisations - after agreeing earlier this year that the cost model provided by Plunket showed consistent under-funding.

However, Malu said even with the extra funding, Plunket is “still $1.3 million short of being able to cover the true cost of delivering the service”.

When considering wage negotiations and Plunket nurses wanting to remain at parity with their Health NZ colleagues, she said, the gap widens to $9 million “this year alone”.

“We begin every financial year $3 million in deficit because those costs aren’t covered - and they’re just the costs of doing business.”

Baker said she is often left in awe observing the nurses connecting with the families they work with and “the beautiful art of humanity in action”.

“I sometimes sit there and have a tear in my eye because I see those beautiful connections ... and it’s awesome - absolutely awesome - and I think it’s the best job in the world.”