Government's Sad Birthday Gift For Plunketline

act-new-zealand

Tue Apr 11 2006 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Government's Sad Birthday Gift For Plunketline

Tuesday, 11 April 2006, 12:35 am
Press Release: ACT New Zealand

Heather Roy
Tuesday, 11 April 2006
Press Releases - Health

Today marks Plunketline's twelfth anniversary, and hundreds of thousands of parents who've called Plunket's helpline are hoping the service can continue, says ACT Health Spokesman, Heather Roy.

"I'm sure that Kiwi parents who have used Plunketline would wish to join me in congratulating Plunket on a job exceptionally well done", Mrs Roy said.

"Yesterday was also the 25th anniversary of Plunket's car seat rental scheme - another excellent service, running alongside Plunket's traditional role of providing Well Child checks.

"Unfortunately, the government has given Plunketline an unenviable birthday present this week, pulling the rug from under their feet and awarding its contract to another firm.

"When I broke the news 18 months ago that Plunketline was to be merged into Healthline, I warned that Plunketline's unique character would be lost in the merger.

"Sadly, I've been proven right - the government set Plunketline up to fail.

"Parents trust Plunket's well respected, valuable and hugely popular service. Plunket nurses provide high quality advice, with an extremely high satisfaction rate from parents.

"One thing the government cannot steal from Plunketline is its unique brand, and Plunket has vowed to continue this well-respected service by finding sustainable funding.

"ACT offers Plunket our support for this move, and will do whatever we can so that Plunketline will continue", Mrs Roy said.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from ACT New Zealand on InfoPages.