Van Velden steers WorkSafe toward a softer touch
A decade after major overhauls to health and safety in New Zealand, WorkSafe is getting a reboot. Critics aren't convinced it will save lives.
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Christchurch nurses regularly in tears over staff shortages
Nurse Bruce MacIntosh joined other nurses on strike in Christchurch today. Photo: RNZ/Rachel Graham A Christchurch nurse, who joined others on strike this afternoon , says staff shortages are so bad he is regularly seeing colleagues in tears. Nurses from theatre, post-anaesthetic care and radiology wards at Christchurch Hospital walked off the job from 2 to 4pm on Friday over a breakdown of collective bargaining. About 80 supporters and nurses gathered in Hagley Park, across the road from Christchurch Hospital, waving flags and posters calling for safe staffing. New Zealand Nurses Organisation delegate and operating theatre assistant Bruce MacIntosh said he is constantly seeing the impact of the staffing shortages. "Its incredible when you go around the wards, and see it like we do and meet with the delegates regularly. It is a crisis. Some of the delegates are crying on the night shift when they can't fill the (staffing) spots," said MacIntosh. "It is risky for the nurses, because if something goes wrong their name is on the block, which is a risk to their practice. So, not only is there risk to the patients, but also risk to the practitioners, the nurses." Nurse Averil Cooper said she too was making a stand for the safety of the patients and nurses' registration. "We have no staff, very little staff. They are run ragged and putting their scope of practice and registration on the line," said Cooper. She said the staff are dealing with chaos every day. Gayl Marryatt, a registered nurse and NZNO delegate, said the strike was part of a rolling strike being taken by the union. She said it was to highlight that multiple parts of the hospital are being affected by the short staffing. Nurses planned to hold nation-wide industrial action on 2 September and 4 September. Health NZ said contingency plans were in place during the strike. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
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The Panel with Anna Dean and Ed McKnight Part 1
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RNZ News
20 hours ago
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Christchurch Hospital's specialist trauma service made no difference in first year
Christchurch Hospital is the largest trauma centre in the South Island. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon A "minimally resourced" specialist trauma service at Christchurch Hospital failed to make any difference for patients in its first year, due to poor staffing and limited operating hours, new research has found. Christchurch Hospital, the largest trauma centre in the South Island, established a specialist trauma admitting service in January 2022. Internationally, such services have been shown to improve survival rates and recovery for patients admitted to hospital after major trauma. However, the Otago University study, published in The New Zealand Medical Journal on Friday, which involved nearly 800 patients, found "no measurable improvement" in major trauma outcomes for those admitted in its first year of operation, compared with those admitted the year before. The authors, including surgeons, said "resourcing limitations have undermined the potential impact of this service". "The Christchurch TAS was launched without adequate funding, resulting in significant staffing shortfalls, including limited trauma surgeon involvement (fewer than four hours per week), no dedicated house officer and restricted operational hours (Monday to Friday only)," it said. "As a result, trauma patients admitted over the weekend were initially managed by the on-call surgical teams before being handed over to the TAS on Monday, potentially leading to delays or inconsistencies in tertiary survey completion. "This has meant that patients admitted over weekends are initially managed by on-call teams before being transferred to the TAS, introducing delays and potential inconsistencies in care." Due to staffing shortages there were periods when the service was not functioning at all, which probably diluted its impact, the report noted. "An example of this is when there was a lack of registrar cover, and so the entire service was closed over the Christmas and New Year period in 2023/2024." Another limitation was "inconsistent or missing data", which may have affected the accuracy of outcome measures and "masked potential areas of improvement", researchers said. Injury is the leading cause of death in New Zealand for those under the age of 35, and the second most common reason for hospitalisation. Although most New Zealand hospitals have dedicated trauma assessment teams (including staff from emergency medicine, general surgery, anaesthetics and nursing), only two of the country's seven tertiary hospitals provide ongoing inpatient trauma-specific care through dedicated trauma admission teams. Health NZ has been approached for comment. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
