from left to right: Sandra Forsyth, committee member of the Kapiti and Waikanae Health Advocacy Groups, Adrian Gregory, Consumer Engagement Consultant to the CCDHB, Iride McCloy chairperson of the Waikanae Health Advocacy Group and Dr Herman Van Kradenburg of the Waikanae Health Centre.   Ellenor Mayo and Margaret Stevenson Wright were two committee members also in attendance.

by Iride McCloy

A very successful meeting was had on Monday and the feedback was tremendous. Considering the short time-frame that WHAG had to present to Adrian Gregory the needs of the Waikanae residents, it was very rewarding that so many people attended.

The theme of the meeting was “Urgent and After Hours Care”.   The audience  were very vocal in particular when it came to “reducing the burden of travel for avoidable hospital care for the people of Waikanae!”

Some of the main points that were highlighted were the remaining gaps for Mental Health and Addictions, and care for people with disabilities.

Details of Kapiti Coast users of Urgent and After Hours services as presented to us by Adrian:-

Of the total Kāpiti population, estimated as 52,000 at present, 27% are over 65; the 45-64 age group represents 28%.

17 Kāpiti residents attend the Emergency Department each day = circa 6,200 per year and 47% are over 65.

Transportation used:- ambulance 55%, other forms 44%.

Admission / non-admission:- 55 / 44%

10.00 am to 11.00 pm is the busiest period with Monday the busiest day.

GP consultation:- circa 25,000 present themselves initially to GPs per annum, 40% in normal hours, 60% after hours

Impact of Home Health Care – The reduction of 30% as a result of GP triage “(“the process of quickly examining sick or injured people, for example after an accident, so that those who are in the most serious condition can be treated first”), and Health Care Home was provided by the DHB and suggests that GP triage significantly reduces visits to A&M or the Emergency Department.

This is just the beginning for Waikanae residents to have a voice in regard to Health Care Needs and the WHAG will have their next meeting for the public to attend on:

Tuesday, 19 March 7 pm at the Waikanae Support Hub.

Contact 04 2938890 or Sandra Forsyth on 021 024 765 95

With Eva at the entrance to a Waikanae River walkway access.

A council “Media Advisory” issued today reads in part:

…anyone that’s been watching the rivers [will] be aware the flows have been dropping.

The Waikanae river is flowing at around 1070 litres per sec today and with no
significant rain expected for over a week we have switched our Waikanae
Water Treatment Plant into river recharge mode.

This means that as the water level drops in the river over the coming days
the plant is ready to start river recharge automatically.

So should we need more water than is available from the river, the ground
water bores will start and top the river up.

This means we can continue to use river water for supply to our Waikanae,
Paraparaumu  and Raumati communities while maintaining the required 750 l/s
base flow in the river.

A colorised photo showing that at the time there was no development north of the Pauatahanui inlet and those travelling by road to Kapiti had to follow it to get onto the Paekakariki Hill Road.

The road bridge was built in 1936 as part of the 1940 Centennial Highway project and at the same time a new double-track railway bridge was built on the west side of this one.

An item on the agenda of today’s council meeting is this pdf from the staff recommending this (extract above).

Although the council wanted to keep this intended eviction secret at its meeting of last 6 December, details of it were made public by Mayoral candidate Gwynn Compton and former Mayor Iride McCloy.

Obviously, council bosses know that trying to keep their callous behaviour secret is pointless, although oddly the council wants the minutes of the secret session of 6 December kept secret, despite everyone knowing what it was about — perhaps a certain councilor is embarrassed about the fact the decision was unanimous?

So how much is this house worth, and how good an investment has it been?

From QV records, apparently it was built in 1990 and was bought by the council on 30 November 2011 for $340,000; its RV from 1 August 2017 is $485,000.  Presumably its value has risen since then.  That was a 43% capital gain over 68 months, which isn’t too shabby, The amount of the ‘market rental’ isn’t given but it’s likely to have at least covered holding costs.  Item 8 in the pdf notes that the house needs “some refurbishment.”

Update

According to a post on the Kapiti Coast FB page:

“Behind closed doors

In a surprise move at Council this morning a public paper on allowing a large family to temporary stay in their Council home in central Paraparaumu was withdrawn by the Mayor without any explanation.

The great and the good of the community including St Vincent de Paul, the Housing Task Force, Grey Power and Community Board members trundled along to speak in support of the paper. Unbeknown to them Councillors in another secret briefing earlier had decided to withdraw the paper. Did we see smirks on the faces of some around the table knowing that the speakers were wasting their time?

The lesson: do not believe any candidate who promises openness and transparency. It won’t happen.  Councillors spent more time discussing who was going to the Local Government Conference and a Director’s conference in Auckland than they did on the housing issue. Let’s fixit. Time for a change.”