I’m currently sitting in the outpatient ward at Kenepuru Community Hospital—my common haunt—waiting for a blood test. The place is filling up quickly and shows what a good service it is to have the hospital in Porirua.

It’s a pity they didn’t put the regional hospital here when they had the chance a few years ago.

Communities deserve to have access to well equipped and staffed public health services. We’re lucky to have that in Porirua—though it is under the usual pressure the rest of the country is under—and we need to protect it without the government looking for saving money in local hospitals.