Hilltops Council has provided a response to questions from the Times in regards to the current situation at the Kruger Medical Centre.
The Times sent questions to Council’s email where protocol directs that emails be recorded and archived and that the email be passed on to those it has been addressed to.
In the email the Times requested that questions be sent to the current GM (whether acting or not) and both Mayor Brian Ingram and Deputy Mayor Tony Wallace.
The Times provided the questions to Council at 10:46am on Tuesday January 21 and advised that a response would be needed by midday January 22. A response was provided by the time requested,
although it didn’t address a number of points and fails to provide readers with the understanding they would expect on the issue from Council.
Those questions were, 1)Have Council Senior staff or Hilltops Councillors met face to face with the current operators of the Kruger Medical Centre to discuss the issues which have resulted in the current course of action?
2) Why did Council not provide the current operators with a new contract based on the most recent Council resolution? And why did Council wait 2 years to take the course of action they have?
3) Council has sighted a part of the local government Act 1993 as a means to seek new providers of medical services at the facility. Eg, (k) a contract made in a case of emergency. What does Council view as an emergency in this case?
4) Has Council been provided with assurances from the current providers that they will be able to attract and employ new Doctors in the near future?
5) What if anything has Council done to provide current staff at the centre with assurances that they will continue to be employed at the Kruger Medical Centre?
6) What access does Hilltops Council have to patient records? How does Hilltops Council access patient records and on what grounds can they be accessed. When did access to records first occur?
Has Hilltops Council ever sought permission from patients to allow access or management of their records?

Council’s Response

“At its extraordinary meeting held on Wednesday 15 January 2020 Hilltops Council resolved to terminate the Medical Practitioner Services
Agreement between Council and the current
occupants of the Kruger Health and Wellness
Complex with effect from February 13, 2020.
The current occupant has advised it will vacate the Complex on 5 February 2020.
Council has engaged Morrison Low Consultants to assist with market engagement and selection of medical practitioners to provide services at the complex.
Council is endeavouring to secure the appropriate Medical services required by the Harden community. Every effort is being made to ensure that a provider to operate the facility will be in place without delay.
Council has a contractual right to control medical records maintained in the Kruger Health and Wellness Complex to ensure that those records
remain in Harden for the benefit of patients. Council does not have access to individual patient records and has not accessed patient records at any time in the past.
Until a provider is selected it is not appropriate for Council to make any further comment.
Inquiries from interested medical practitioners may be directed to s.rao@morrisonlow.com”

Hilltops Council’s response to the Times was also placed on it’s website, 6 and a half days after Council’s resolution.