On 3 November I wrote about the Manukau DHB’s refusal to entertain the idea of a Ronald McDonald house at Middlemore Hospital. On further enquiry this decision becomes even more risible.

It appears that the decision was an executive decision on the advice of health professionals, not a board decision. I cannot elicit any response or explanation from the DHB. This is disappointing from an institution that needs to be engaged with its community and stakeholders.
 
Secondly, contrary to media reports, there was never an offer to provide a Ronald McDonald house to Middlemore. The Ronald McDonald charity was surveying several tertiary pediatric institutions on unmet needs. Middlemore never responded to the survey questions. Its later public statement  was unprompted and unsubstantiated.
 
Let’s make four more points about Middlemore’s misguided decision to rule out any chance of a Ronald McDonald care centre.
 
First, the decision is regressive. Poor families in south Auckland and beyond will be most negatively affected. Hospitalised children, fearful and anxious, will be separated from hard-up parents at a time of maximum need. These are poor children, many in poverty.
 
Secondly, the decision is selective or at least amnesiac. About ten years  ago the charity funded two hospital care rooms at Middlemore. These are still in operation. 
 
Also, the charity funded two Ronald McDonald Care Mobiles, large specially equipped trucks. These provide mobile dental care in South Auckland and Northland. They continue to operate with an additional annual grant from the charity. I await the announcement they are being mothballed, the service discontinued and the grants refunded because of a clown painted above the front bumper.
 
Thirdly, the decision is an act of fiscal nonsense. Care facilities cost millions of dollars. Perhaps the DHB can borrow this at zero interest and use its unsullied moral righteousness as collateral. But I doubt it.
 
Finally, since when does a marketing opinion from health lobbyists (including the flat-earthers who compare Ronald McDonald to Pablo Escobar) persuade a responsible authority to shut down highly valued charitable services. Ronald McDonald Houses do not cause detrimental health effects. They do not cause people to rush out and buy a Big Mac combo.
 
What they do, is keep parents and children together in times of greatest need. There may be clowns in this story, but they don’t have red noses and floppy red shoes.