Southland Hospital Struggling With ‘Too Small' ED
The three-page document discussed the hospital's struggling emergency department and operating theatres which have been waiting on upgrades since 2021 when funding was allocated.
'Southland Hospital is experiencing significant capacity constraints in ED (emergency department),' the report stated.
'The ED is too small to allow for the efficient flow of patients, this leads to extended times for patients to be placed in a clinical space to be assessed.'
A lack of specialised treatment spaces in the department meant it was not complying with relevant standards of 'safe, effective and dignified care', the document said.
'The ED is not equipped to sustainably and safely treat infectious patients.'
Meanwhile, demand was only increasing.
In 2024, the department was tracking at 2,015 patients per bed compared to recommended targets of between 1,000 - 1,500
A shortfall in theatres was also hitting the hospital hard, with Southland now home to a 'stringent' eligibility criteria and some of the highest thresholds for surgery in the country.
At the time the information was prepared in December, there were 1,071 patients waiting more than four months for surgical procedures.
High demand for acute and trauma care — especially from Queenstown — was straining resources, it said.
Surgeons were not being fully utilised, and a further 90 surgeries could be completed each month if more theatres were created.
The initial business case from 2021 estimated a need for two more operating theatres.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora would not give the current budget for upgrades to the hospital, but said $3 million had previously been allocated for theatre capacity and $5 million for emergency department expansion.
The combined $8 million is deemed insufficient without significant compromises, the document said.
A more accurate figure is expected as part of an updated concept design and business case, but it is expected to take a further two years to deliver the upgrades once the case is approved.
Issues with sleeping facilities were also noted, as the current arrangement did not satisfy the multi-employer collective agreement.
The report said the hospital was built with the expectation the region's population would decrease, but it had done the opposite.
It also highlighted pressure resulting from the closure of Invercargill's urgent doctors in March 2024 and a struggle to recruit new GPs.
Local Democracy Reporting asked for notes and minutes from a February meeting between Southland District Council and Te Whatu Ora, but none were taken.
A spokesperson for Te Whatu Ora said they understood the two parties met regularly.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
10 hours ago
- RNZ News
Homegrown health workers fill Taranaki gaps
New Plymouth Boys High School students heard from Tui Ora kaiārahi in primary care Lee O'Neill about a future in the health sector at one of Why Ora's workshops. Photo: LDR / SUPPLIED A 15-year effort to fill gaps in the Taranaki health workforce has almost doubled the proportion of Māori working for the region's public health service. As New Zealand struggles to attract doctors and nurses in a global shortage, and regions are forced to compete with the big cities for health workers, Taranaki has nurtured a homegrown response. Whakatipuranga Rima Rau (Generation 500) was set up in 2010 to attract 500 Māori into the region's health sector over a decade. Back then Māori were 6.6 percent of the workforce at Taranaki District Health Board. Photo: These days 11.3 percent of Taranaki staff are Māori at what's now Te Whatu Ora (Health NZ), which employs about half of the region's health workers. The Whakatipuranga Rima Rau trust didn't hit the target of 500 doctors, nurses, support workers and other health and disability staff within ten years, but its work continues under a new brand, Why Ora. Why Ora currently has 209 Māori registered as in health jobs in Taranaki, with a further 58 in tertiary study for health careers. Sixty-five senior high school students learned about hauora career possibilities at two recent workshops hosted by Tui Ora in New Plymouth and Ngāruahine Iwi Health Services in Manāia It was Why Ora's first time partnering with Māori service providers, with previous Rapuara Hauora (health careers) workshops held at Taranaki Base and Hawera Hospitals. Students got a look inside Māori health workplaces and hands-on learning with professionals. The tama got hands-on experience, including trying out exercises designed for kaumātua. Photo: LDR / SUPPLIED Why Ora kaiārahi (guide) Liahna Smith said taking an interactive approach inside kaupapa Māori spaces "made it so awesome for everyone involved". "The positivity about being Māori and working to serve whānau: 100 percent we would want to continue this approach in the future." Smith's boss, pou whakahaere (chief executive) Tanya Anaha, said it fortified Why Ora's determination to grow a strong, capable Māori health workforce. "This partnership not only gave our taiohi (teenagers) a valuable opportunity to explore the many career pathways into sustainable, high-income roles within the health sector, but also allowed our providers to showcase the incredible services they deliver to our communities." Tui Ora's kaumātua talked about the value of health and support services they receive, said facilitator Leanne Matuku. One elder had a mokopuna in the student group. "Now our kaumātua have seen the programme the vine is going to happen - whānau will be saying to each other 'why isn't your boy here?'" she said. Ngāruahine Iwi Health Services kaiwhakarite (manager) Warren Nicholls said Rapuara Hauora events opened up pathways to meaningful work for taiohi. "It's very rewarding to establish a whakapapa connection or linkage that offers taiohi a further sense of identity and belonging - and both humbling and a privilege to share ourselves and our insights, to support these taiohi in reaching their potential." The late Dame Tariana Turia launched Whakatipuranga Rima Rau while in coalition with National during John Key's premiership. As associate health minister, she said it was "the most impressive expression" of kotahitanga, whanaungatanga, kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga (unity, relationship, stewardship and self-determination). "There is a wider vision yet - even more impressive than 500 jobs - and that is to create the expectation and indeed the reality that Taranaki will have a competent, skilled Maori health and disability workforce." Despite the doubled presence of tangata whenua in Te Whatu Ora's Taranaki workforce, that 11.3 percent would need to double again to match the Māori share of the region's population. Why Ora has expanded its indigenous career empowerment mahi to also help Māori onto other career paths, particularly education. - LDR is local body reporting co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air
Scoop
11 hours ago
- Scoop
PSA Decries Closure Of Specialist Mental Health Facility Segar House
The PSA strongly objects to the decision released today to close Rauaroha - Segar House, a specialised mental health facility based in Auckland for some of New Zealand's most complex patients. "Despite the critical life-saving work done at Segar House, Health New Zealand has today announced its decision to shut this unique, much-needed service," Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi national secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, says. "This is terrible news for staff, those who rely on the specialist support offered at Segar House and their loved ones. "We're calling on Health New Zealand and the government to reverse this decision and commit to properly funding Segar House. New Zealanders want - and deserve - public mental healthcare that serves everyone, even and especially those with complex needs." Segar House is a wrap-around service for mental health clients that incorporates several different kinds of therapies. Its emphasis on group work and positive social interaction is designed to help their patients re-integrate smoothly into normal life. "The team working at Segar House are devastated, they know this decision will have tragic consequences," Fitzsimons says. "Segar House has supported patients with highly complex health histories, with more than one diagnosed issue, as well as horrific early trauma well for many years. They can only come to Segar House when they've already exhausted all other options - it's the last option for these mental health patients. Te Whatu Ora first proposed closing Segar House in April this year, saying the facility was under-utilised. In response, staff criticised Te Whatu Ora's referral rules as overly restrictive. After pressure from the clinical team last year, Segar House trialled working with Primary Care Liaison teams to drop the barrier for admission and had good results with an increase in clients getting access to their intensive treatment. The PSA is also seeking legal advice following more recent revelations that Te Whatu Ora considered not renewing the Segar House lease last year, months before the closure proposal was tabled. Nearly 3000 people have signed a . The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand's largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Labour ponders free tests as Government struggles with slow path to cervical cancer elimination
A report, obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act, noted that screening rates had fallen across the board during the pandemic, with the national rate of people up-to-date with their screening falling from 71.2% in October 2019 to 67.4% in October 2023. Slowly, screening rates have climbed, including among Māori, Pacific and Asian women, whose screening rates have tended to be below the national average. Rates of screening for Māori women only exceeded 2019 levels earlier this year. The report said that recovering screening rates were largely the result of new HPV self-tests. Of the 450,000 HPV primary screens completed between the rollout of HPV primary screening in September 2023 and October 2024, 81% were self-tests, the report said. Every three years, the Health Minister must appoint a Parliamentary Review Committee (which despite the name, does not include MPs) to review the National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP). The figures in this story were included in a briefing Brown received in October on the progress Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora was making towards the 31 recommendations made by the 2021-2023 committee. The briefing warned that the recommendations were 'highly ambitious and unfunded' and made during a time of 'tight fiscal settings'. Officials produced a traffic-light chart of all 31 recommendations, charting which ones were tracking to plan and which were not, rating them green to red for their deliverability. One recommendation that had been 'orange – paused' was 'considering options for the development of an elimination strategy' for the cancer. Brown said this had been started again. 'The Ministry of Health is leading the development of a cervical cancer elimination plan in partnership with the Cancer Control Agency,' he said. The only recommendation to be given a 'red – critical' rating was the recommendation to roll out free screening to all populations. 'Funding has not yet been secured for all population to receive free cervical screening in NZ,' the paper said. In 2023, the then Labour Government rolled out a new HPV test which could be self-administered. HPV causes over 95% of cervical cancers. This was accompanied by $7.3m to pay for free tests for some populations. The ability to self-test is meant to appeal to people who felt uncomfortable with the likes of a smear test, which are administered by someone else. Verrall said the cervical cancer screening programme was 'the only national screening programme where people are expected to pay for access'. 'Women might well ask, if I'm screening myself now, why do I have to pay?' she said. While some providers offered the service for free, others did not and required a co-payment or similar charge. Verrall said the test can be delivered in a diverse range of settings, allowing eligibility for free tests to be widened further. 'People who have the lowest participation and screening are those who sometimes struggle to pay,' she said.
