My Account
Vaccination shambles
The information supplied by the Ministry of Health advises that persons in Group 3 (65 and over) will be notified how and when to book a vaccination in late May. I have received no notification and then I see a Facebook posting from my MP early this week telling constituents how to book their vaccination and where they can go. In the Rodney region, this is being managed by the Coast to Coast Healthcare group. So I phone up on Tuesday requesting an appointment and I am told they are fully booked up that week and I should phone again on Friday to book for next week, as they can’t take bookings in advance for the following week. So I phone up first thing this morning and I am told they are fully booked, and they tell me they don’t know when I can get an appointment. I am also told that priority is being given to people who are registered with the Coast to Coast Healthcare group, which I am not. I am registered with a doctor in Auckland who I have been with for the last 30 years and I have no intention of changing. We only have two logical choices for Rodney residents, Wellsford or Birkenhead, despite Rodney being a district of 2420 sq kilometers. Based on my experience, this vaccination programme appears to be a complete shambles. If they are keen to get people vaccinated then they should facilitate the process rather than hinder it. Firstly, the Ministry of Health need to communicate as they said they would and secondly vaccination centres should not be discriminatory and prioritise their existing customers. When you phone in to book an appointment they should be able to provide an appointment, even if it is two weeks ahead. To say that we are fully booked, can’t accept any new bookings and have no idea when you can get an appointment is plainly ridiculous. Is this shambles what we get for our $35 million? It is a national embarrassment.
Robert Hood, Warkworth
Mahurangi Matters put issues raised here to Coast to Coast Health director Dr Tim Malloy. Dr Malloy said the Ministry of Health booking system was not up and running nationally yet and not expected to be available for some weeks. As a result, Coast to Coast has had to create its own booking system for its vaccination centre in Wellsford. Dr Malloy said so far the majority of people Coast to Coast had vaccinated were patients from other practices and those outside the area. “In the interests of equity and, until we can match supply with demand, we also need to allow our own patients to be vaccinated,” he said. Further comments from Dr Malloy and the Northern Region Health Co-ordination Centre can be found in the story on page 20 – Ed
More on plaques
We were taken aback to see the article about deleting the Warkworth Wharf name plaques (MM May 19). As long-standing locals we enjoy walking the wharf and reminiscing about the names, many of whom still have descendants living here. Some people are gone now but were an important part of our community. The last wharf restoration was subsidised by these people. They thought enough of Warkworth to contribute financially. Is it too much to ask for the original deal of their name on a plaque on the wharf to be honoured and respected? Put them back on the restored wharf. How hard is that?
K & J Campbell, Matakana
Blatant discrimination
Regarding the Brent Morrissey letter (MM May 19). The gravel roads in rural Rodney are shocking, especially those with gradients and corners. I might point out that Auckland Council/Auckland Transport have always managed the roads and herein lies the problem. There is insufficient budget for proper maintenance or extending seal, thus the roads are eroding the base down to the clay. Grading is only a temporary solution, and without more product, the roads are deteriorating with dust nuisance in the summer, pot holes and corrugations in the winter – a danger to both driver and vehicle. The only long-term solution is a decent sealing program. The local transport targeted rate was publicly consulted on as a funding solution, but has all been diverted into urban public transport. The $121 million Mayor Goff/Rodney First win-win sealing deal has gone phut. Extension sealing has completely stopped since October 2020 and the new Auckland Council/AT Budget has a 66 per cent drop in funding, yet rural folk still pay the targeted rate, regional fuel tax and a 5 per cent rate rise. Blatant discrimination against rural communities.
Glen Ashton, Ahuroa
Lack of foresight
I write in regard to the lack of a full interchange at Puhoi on the new Puhoi to Warkworth motorway. NZTA spokesperson Darryl Walker repeats their already published statement that they forecast no demand for a full interchange with north-facing ramps (MM March 31). It is now interesting to read data published by StatisticsNZ forecasting a 50 per cent population increase in the general area by 2043 – an additional 2680 people. Alongside that, there is the recent announcement of 1500ha of land, including resource consent for 207 lots and open to additional subdivision, is now on the market on the northern boundary of Puhoi, running up to Perry Road, Warkworth, with the motorway running through it. Add to that, Warkworth and its environs are scheduled to quadruple in size. I note former Rodney Mayor Penny Webster, ever the politician, claims her efforts resulted in at least the south-facing ramps (MM May 5) by pointing out to the NZ Transport Agency the somewhat obvious need for access to the motorway for emergency services (including the Puhoi Fire Brigade). Firstly, this may well have been in mitigation of Council’s previous negative attitude to the whole scheme, along with realisation preparations for a legal challenge to the removal of the long-held access for locals to the tunnels southward was well advanced. In any case, accidents happen both south and north of Puhoi and as far as I am able to ascertain, nothing has yet been established to deal with accidents north of Puhoi. Underlying all of this is a profound lack of foresight and long-term planning, coupled with a decades-old reluctance to advance the development of Northland. This has manifested in the fiasco that is the Harbour Bridge, originally envisioned with a platform layout similar to the Sydney Harbour Bridge – multi-lanes, pedestrian access and rail line. It was reduced to a minimum because “they” forecast no need for more. We have now spent mega-bucks trying to mitigate that error, along with multiple revisits to stretches of the motorway to widen and upgrade the minimalist previous efforts, and it has now taken over 60 years to reach where we are today.
John Simons, Orewa
