Assault Reignites Christchurch Hospital Parking Woes
New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) is concerned that after-hours attacks on Christchurch Hospital staff returning to their cars have continued without a proper long-term solution to parking in sight.
It follows the recent assault on a student midwife going back to her car from Kurawaka Waipapa.
NZNO Christchurch delegate Al Dietschin says staff have raised concerns about parking at the hospital for more than a decade, possibly longer, and while there has been some action from Te Whatu Ora, it is not nearly enough to prevent the assaults from persisting.
"How many incidents do we need to have before the employer acts in the interest of staff in accordance with the Health and Safety Employment Act?
"They have to provide a safe work environment. They always say health and safety of staff is important, but these after-hours assaults continue to happen."
Al Dietschin says the Tū Waka Waipapa building that opened opposite the hospital in November 2023 provides parking, but costs about $25 a day, which is unaffordable for most workers.
In wake of many assaults in the past, the hospital provides a minibus shuttle between 9pm and 1am, but staff are often made to wait too long for this arrive.
"Staff are reportedly walking to their cars because they're made to wait 30 minutes or more after working the late shift for the shuttle to arrive. Staff don't feel safe walking to cars after their shift or early morning in the dark, but they're sometimes forced to."
Another shocking decision recently limits emergency department parking for lead maternity carers (community midwives) to five hours, he says.
"This used to be available for unlimited time. Now they're forced to ask core staff to relieve them in the middle of a patient's labour so they don't get fined. That's not good for the safety of their patients."
Al Dietschin says the solution is simple from the staff's perspective.
"Staff only want safe after hours parking close to hospital, and we don't want to break the bank for this to happen."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Opportunities Identified To Strengthen Equitable Access To Midwifery Continuity Of Care
Press Release – NZ College Of Midwives A new analysis commissioned by Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora, Analysis of claims under the Primary Maternity Services Notice, reinforces the vital role of the midwifery lead maternity carer (LMC) model of care in delivering quality maternity report recognises that continuity of care is the standard that all pregnant women, gender diverse people and their whānau should be able to access and shows that three quarters of women receive care from an LMC across the full course of pregnancy, labour, and the postnatal period. The findings provide strong evidence for Health NZ to invest in strengthening and supporting the LMC model to ensure equitable access for whānau who don't currently receive full continuity of care. The analysis of 2022 maternity care data shows that 91.5% of women registered with an LMC in pregnancy and over 95% of LMCs are midwives. This highlights LMC midwives' commitment to meet communities' needs despite a 40% workforce shortage at that time. However, the data also highlights inequity of access to midwifery care, driven by significant workforce shortages in Auckland, Counties Manukau, and Hutt Valley. These shortages disproportionately affect Māori, Pacific, Indian, and MELAA families. The College has long been calling for targeted investment to expand access to midwifery continuity of care and to establish navigational support to register with a midwife in pregnancy. This report provides clear data supporting that call — especially in regions facing chronic midwife shortages and among communities that lack equitable access to care. 'The Kahu Taurima policy work being undertaken by Health NZ offers a critical opportunity to reimagine maternity funding and workforce strategies,' says Alison Eddy, CE of the College of Midwives. 'We have strong evidence and a dedicated midwifery workforce. Now is the time to back our maternity system with the investment it needs to deliver equitable access to continuity of care for all.' Additional information Analysis of Claims under the Primary Maternity Services Notice 1. What is this report about? The report analyses payment data under the Primary Maternity Services Notice to understand how maternity care was accessed and provided in 2022. It focuses particularly on continuity of care provided by Lead Maternity Carers (LMCs), most of whom are midwives. 2. Why was 2022 such a significant year for midwifery? In 2022, midwifery was the most acutely understaffed health profession in Aotearoa, with a documented workforce shortage of around 40%. Despite this, the majority of women still received continuous care from midwives—an achievement that deserves recognition. 3. What positive findings are highlighted in the report? • 95.2% of LMCs were midwives. • 91.5% of pregnant women were registered with an LMC. • 74% received full continuity of care from a single midwife across antenatal, birth, and postnatal care. • 89% of clients who registered with an LMC midwife received all care modules. • 93.3% of women received labour care from a midwife they had met during pregnancy. These figures are especially impressive given the workforce strain at the time. 4. Does the report show problems with access to care? Yes, but the issue is more nuanced than the framing suggests. About 8.2% of birthing women in 2022 didn't access an LMC during pregnancy. This access issue was not related to rurality, but was strongly linked to ethnicity and concentrated in a few districts: Auckland, Counties Manukau, Hutt Valley, and Marlborough. The report is not able to clarify the reasons people did not receive LMC midwifery care. 5. Is continuity of care still the standard in NZ? Yes. Despite significant system pressure, three out of four women received complete care from a single LMC midwife. Even where more than one midwife was involved, most women still received all modules of care (antenatal, birth, postnatal), showing the commitment of midwives to providing wraparound support. 6. What does the report say about postnatal care models? The report found that 10% of midwives claimed only for postnatal care, mostly in Auckland and Hutt Valley. This indicates that 90% of midwives continued to offer care across the full maternity spectrum. While some practice models split care stages, continuity remains a key feature of most midwifery practice. 7. Were there any issues with the report's data or analysis? Yes. The analysis combines data from two different sources, one of which (MAT) appears to cover only five months and ends in December. This could skew results, especially as women due over the Christmas period may be less likely to have access to full continuity. Some statistical methods and definitions (e.g. what constitutes a change of LMC) are also unclear, which may impact interpretation. 8. What are the areas for improvement? The report reveals: • Ethnic inequities in access to LMC continuity of care. • Regional variations, particularly in urban centres under workforce strain. • Opportunities to improve postnatal continuity and reduce care fragmentation. These findings point to the need for targeted, equity-focused investment to ensure improved access to the optimal model of care. 9. What does the College of Midwives recommend? We are calling for: • Sustainable investment in the midwifery workforce to ensure consistent coverage and continuity. • Targeted support in high-need areas to address inequity in access. • Funded navigational support for whānau needing to access maternity care • Funding and policy reform to protect and strengthen continuity of care models. • Recognition of the resilience and professionalism of midwives, who continue to deliver high-quality care even under pressure.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Opportunities Identified To Strengthen Equitable Access To Midwifery Continuity Of Care
A new analysis commissioned by Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora, Analysis of claims under the Primary Maternity Services Notice, reinforces the vital role of the midwifery lead maternity carer (LMC) model of care in delivering quality maternity care. The report recognises that continuity of care is the standard that all pregnant women, gender diverse people and their whānau should be able to access and shows that three quarters of women receive care from an LMC across the full course of pregnancy, labour, and the postnatal period. The findings provide strong evidence for Health NZ to invest in strengthening and supporting the LMC model to ensure equitable access for whānau who don't currently receive full continuity of care. The analysis of 2022 maternity care data shows that 91.5% of women registered with an LMC in pregnancy and over 95% of LMCs are midwives. This highlights LMC midwives' commitment to meet communities' needs despite a 40% workforce shortage at that time. However, the data also highlights inequity of access to midwifery care, driven by significant workforce shortages in Auckland, Counties Manukau, and Hutt Valley. These shortages disproportionately affect Māori, Pacific, Indian, and MELAA families. The College has long been calling for targeted investment to expand access to midwifery continuity of care and to establish navigational support to register with a midwife in pregnancy. This report provides clear data supporting that call — especially in regions facing chronic midwife shortages and among communities that lack equitable access to care. 'The Kahu Taurima policy work being undertaken by Health NZ offers a critical opportunity to reimagine maternity funding and workforce strategies,' says Alison Eddy, CE of the College of Midwives. 'We have strong evidence and a dedicated midwifery workforce. Now is the time to back our maternity system with the investment it needs to deliver equitable access to continuity of care for all.' Additional information Analysis of Claims under the Primary Maternity Services Notice 1. What is this report about? The report analyses payment data under the Primary Maternity Services Notice to understand how maternity care was accessed and provided in 2022. It focuses particularly on continuity of care provided by Lead Maternity Carers (LMCs), most of whom are midwives. 2. Why was 2022 such a significant year for midwifery? In 2022, midwifery was the most acutely understaffed health profession in Aotearoa, with a documented workforce shortage of around 40%. Despite this, the majority of women still received continuous care from midwives—an achievement that deserves recognition. 3. What positive findings are highlighted in the report? • 95.2% of LMCs were midwives. • 91.5% of pregnant women were registered with an LMC. • 74% received full continuity of care from a single midwife across antenatal, birth, and postnatal care. • 89% of clients who registered with an LMC midwife received all care modules. • 93.3% of women received labour care from a midwife they had met during pregnancy. These figures are especially impressive given the workforce strain at the time. 4. Does the report show problems with access to care? Yes, but the issue is more nuanced than the framing suggests. About 8.2% of birthing women in 2022 didn't access an LMC during pregnancy. This access issue was not related to rurality, but was strongly linked to ethnicity and concentrated in a few districts: Auckland, Counties Manukau, Hutt Valley, and Marlborough. The report is not able to clarify the reasons people did not receive LMC midwifery care. 5. Is continuity of care still the standard in NZ? Yes. Despite significant system pressure, three out of four women received complete care from a single LMC midwife. Even where more than one midwife was involved, most women still received all modules of care (antenatal, birth, postnatal), showing the commitment of midwives to providing wraparound support. 6. What does the report say about postnatal care models? The report found that 10% of midwives claimed only for postnatal care, mostly in Auckland and Hutt Valley. This indicates that 90% of midwives continued to offer care across the full maternity spectrum. While some practice models split care stages, continuity remains a key feature of most midwifery practice. 7. Were there any issues with the report's data or analysis? Yes. The analysis combines data from two different sources, one of which (MAT) appears to cover only five months and ends in December. This could skew results, especially as women due over the Christmas period may be less likely to have access to full continuity. Some statistical methods and definitions (e.g. what constitutes a change of LMC) are also unclear, which may impact interpretation. 8. What are the areas for improvement? The report reveals: • Ethnic inequities in access to LMC continuity of care. • Regional variations, particularly in urban centres under workforce strain. • Opportunities to improve postnatal continuity and reduce care fragmentation. These findings point to the need for targeted, equity-focused investment to ensure improved access to the optimal model of care. 9. What does the College of Midwives recommend? We are calling for: • Sustainable investment in the midwifery workforce to ensure consistent coverage and continuity. • Targeted support in high-need areas to address inequity in access. • Funded navigational support for whānau needing to access maternity care • Funding and policy reform to protect and strengthen continuity of care models. • Recognition of the resilience and professionalism of midwives, who continue to deliver high-quality care even under pressure.
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Christchurch Hospital clinical director John O'Donnell retires after 42 years
Christchurch clinical director of immunology/immunopathology John O'Donnell in his lab. Photo: Supplied/Te Whatu Ora After 42 years working at Christchurch Hospital, John O'Donnell says it still feels like he just started yesterday. O'Donnell retired on Friday, 6 June, as clinical director of immunology/immunopathology. He started his time at Christchurch Hospital in 1977, as a medical student, moving up from Dunedin. After three years, he left for Waikato and was then based in a couple of other spots, including two years back in Christchurch, but by 1989, he was back as a consultant and he has remained ever since. O'Donnell has seen many changes in his time there, with the most notable being the complete change in the hospital buildings and the huge advances in computing technology. "When I started, there was no internet and there have been huge advances in computing technology," he said. "Email didn't exist, so communication is much more rapid, with cell phones and things like that. When we were on call, people used to carry around these bricks of a phone. I inherited one of those bricks to carry around." He said in laboratories, the automating of testing had also been a big change, although less so in his specialty area of immunology, where some testing still needed to be done manually. "You still get the scientist standing at a bench and pipetting things." He said there were also big changes in the understanding of the immune system. "Increasingly, it is recognised that many diseases we deal with are an aberration of the immune response. Certain diseases, like encephalitis or certain muscle diseases, it's the immune system attacking those organs to produce some quite bizarre changes in those organs, which we never thought of as being part of us, in terms of our immune system, going haywire. "We often saw them as perhaps a virus or some other thing, but often, it turns out it is the immune system attacking things." In Christchurch, he said there was an interest in muscle diseases and particularly those triggered by statin use. "Its a very rare complication, but it is one of the interests we have locally, testing for that sort of disorder called auto-immune myositis - an auto immune muscle inflammation. We have done some work and publications in that area." He still found the area fascinating and was amazed how quickly his time in the job had gone by. "I could have started yesterday." As he departed after more than 40 years, O'Donnell said the health system was going through its third major shake-up. "Health is always under strain," he said. "It's inevitable it will change. I don't think it's particularly helpful people yelling and posturing. Everybody knows there is a strain and we have to work together to come up with a system that works, without extracting things from other people all the time. "We have to work together and realise what the limitations are, and be realistic about what we can deliver, without crashing the system entirely." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
