Alexander (Sandy) Milne

I plan to reply to some of the letters in Wednesday’s Beacon, but they can wait until after I have dealt with the more important letter of Chris Moyes, which was essentially an endorsement of the excellent article on MRI scanners by Greypower president and former Whakatāne mayor Victor Luca (Beacon, April 10).

My former Whakatāne Hospital colleague and hepatitis virus control research co-worker Dr Moyes, expressed his disgust and horror at the bungling leading to the loss of our MRI scanner to Masterton, a district with a population smaller than ours.

Regular Beacon contributor Suzanne Williams thanked Mr Luca for his April 10 article and added, “We have also been reminded once more of the further widening of the gap between the almighty Western Bay and the lowly Eastern Bay.”

Dr Moyes’ final paragraph should be acted upon by all of us, especially all of his medical colleagues in the Eastern Bay: “This (MRI scanner balls-up, my words), is disgraceful and needs some strong action from our local community.

“I would hope our mayor and local MPs would make this a priority and put serious pressure on the health ministry, and if it needs a local fundraising effort, I am sure we can achieve that.”

Good on you Dr Moyes, but hang on ... surely every doctor of medicine in the Whakatāne-Ōpōtiki-Kawerau area should have been leading the charge on this already well-publicised scandal, and not leave it to the likes of Mr Luca and myself? Mr Luca has been busy for six years giving talks, organising meetings, and lobbying senior MPs on serious shortcomes in healthcare delivery. The Beacon covered his recent leadership of a delegation to meet with Minister of Health Simeon Brown and has run his frequent articles/letters on health, climate change, solar energy and much more. He also organised and led the 2025 NZ-wide Zoom meeting, “Spotlight on NZ health system crisis”.

What have the many members of the Whakatāne Postgraduate Medical Society done to reverse the problem of the loss of vital services to the privateers in Tauranga?