Health New Zealand is sending a team of senior clinicians to Nelson Hospital, after a 1News investigation revealed major concerns with the hospitals staffing and wait times.
On Sunday, 1News published an interview with senior doctors at the hospital, who voiced their concerns with staffing and patient safety due to long wait times.
They said they had raised the concerns with management for months, if not years – and the lack of staff in their departments has led to waitlists blowing out and putting lives in danger.
A senior emergency department doctor at the hospital also spoke to 1News about his concerns, and said “I think we’re failing our community”, as staff pressures and long wait times took a toll.
He said the biggest issue was a lack of ward beds, meaning patients were waiting up to 50 hours in the emergency department before being admitted.
This evening, Health New Zealand chief clinical officer Dr Richard Sullivan said: “We are taking the situation at Nelson hospital extremely seriously.”
“From tomorrow, a team made up of senior clinicians will start arriving in Nelson. This group will be led by me.”
He said the team would “immediately be meeting with senior doctors and medical staff” to understand the waitlist data and what is needed to quickly improve the situation for patients and staff.
“The team will also be looking into the individual cases that have been highlighted in the media.”
Later, Health Minister Simeon Brown said on X that he had met with Health NZ about Nelson Hospital. Officials had “confirmed they will be immediately deploying a team of senior clinicians to assess the situation,” he said.
