Documents reveal extent of problems
Problems with the Southland Hospital's "too small" emergency department are outlined in information prepared for former Health Minister Shane Reti in December 2024, released to Local Democracy Reporting under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.
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 2015 patients per bed compared to recommended targets of between 1000-1500.
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.
When the information was prepared in December, there were 1071 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 (HNZ) would not give the current budget for upgrades to the hospital, but said $3million had previously been allocated for theatre capacity and $5m for emergency department expansion.
The combined $8m was 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 anticipated 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 HNZ, but none were taken.
A spokesperson for HNZ said the two parties met regularly.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
GP honoured, warns of health funding
A nationally honoured Southland GP is concerned about government funding focus on virtual and after-hours treatment as opposed to the face-to-face, personalised care her practice can offer. Dr Glenys Weir, who was awarded a King's Service Medal on Monday, said she was worried about the government prioritising its funding to after-hours and telehealth care over much needed support and training of GPs. Last month, in a pre-budget announcement, Minister of Health Simeon Brown committed $164 million in funding to urgent and after-hours healthcare in the regions. The following week, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora confirmed its plans for a new 24-7 virtual telehealth service, set to go live as early as this month. "All the money's gone to after-hours [and] telehealth," Dr Weir said. "It's not a solution. "We knew 10, 15 years ago that we were going to have this crisis in general practice, because it was a decade of not training enough." She said general practice had changed incredibly and she and her colleagues at Gore Medical Centre were now seeing about 2000 patients per full-time GP. These days, she said you would not see the same GP as much as you would in the past and therefore would not get the same continuity of care. Only recently, she had seen a patient presenting with a foot problem who actually had an underlying heart issue as well as a range of other issues contributing to poor health. She said she was able to give him an ECG, prescribe medications and address his other health concerns. "If it was telehealth, they'd only be dealing with the foot," she said. Dr Weir joined the medical centre in 1981 and was the first female doctor in the Gore District. She said she was now treating the fifth generation of some families. Knowing a patient well means as a practitioner can sense changes and pick up on underlying issues, she said. "We're well-trained and just pick up so much more," she said. She said to accommodate the increased workload, GPs were having to work harder, doing the more serious tasks while easier ones were being delegated to nurses, who had really stepped up. The doctor received her royal honour this week for her services to health, and had volunteered her service to rural health days, offering free consultations for health screening and promotion. She also had a little clinic in the Plunket rooms out in Waikaka, where she would see a lot of young mothers and do immunisations. Now, she said rural patients were more inclined to travel into town to visit the centre, as they were coming and going more frequently. Despite the increased workload, she was still encouraged by the calibre of GPs she saw coming through, particularly the group of young people that were committed locally. Still working part-time at the centre, she said due to the quality of these young doctors, she felt comfortable retiring probably by the end of the year. She accepted the award on behalf of her team, those who had come before her and those who were the future of the practice, because she could not have done this alone, she said. "You just can't carry it on your own."
Scoop
29-05-2025
- Scoop
Government's Health Boost Less Than Claimed, Expert Says
$31b for Health in Budget 2025 just 3.6 percent increase, compared with what was 'actually spent' in 2024/25, Professor Tim Tenbensel says Most of last year's boost to HNZ's bottom-line 'absorbed' by Holidays Act remediation payouts to staff Axing pay equity settlements in the health sector 'saved' the Government $420m. A leading health systems expert is questioning the Government's claim of 'record investment' in the public system, saying the real increase to the health budget this year is half of what the government claims. Health Minister Simeon Brown and Finance Minister Nicola Willis have said the $31 billion allocation for health in Budget 2025 represented an operating funding increase of 7.4 percent – or nearly $2 billion – year on year. The two ministers donned hard hats and high-vis vests for a site visit at Wellington Regional Hospital on Wednesday, where they announced details of a further $100 million investment in its ongoing upgrade. Speaking to media following the tour, Brown said Health NZ had also had a $1.4 billion uplift in operating funding this year – the second instalment of a $16.6 billion cost-pressure boost over four years. 'It's a significant uplift to allow them to invest in the front-line workforce required to give New Zealanders and timely and quality healthcare they need,' Brown said. The government's investment in health far outstripped either population growth or inflation, the Finance Minister added. 'For context, that operational funding uplift was more than 7 percent over what it's been, which even on a population basis is more than 6 percent,' Willis said. 'So, we're ensuring that funding is going in at a far faster rate than either population growth or inflation.' In response to RNZ's request for a detailed breakdown of the percentage increase, Brown's office later said the figure of 6.2 percent was 'based on Treasury's annual growth rates set out in Budget Economic and Fiscal Update 2025, and the nominal Vote Health operating spend for Budget 2025'. However, Auckland University health policy Professor Tim Tenbensel said, according to his calculations, the $31 billion allocated for health in the Budget was only 3.6 percent more than what was actually spent last year. 'So, we're pretty much treading water at best, or rather sinking a little, in this budget,' Prof Tenbensel said. Furthermore, operational funding last year only increased about 1.2 percent in real terms. 'And the reason for that is because a lot of the money for this financial year's Budget in health was soaked up to remediate the underpayment of staff under the Holidays Act,' he said. 'So, that might help to explain the reality of people in the sector wasn't matching some of the things said by government.' Tenbensel said the Government's oft-quoted claim of a $16 billion boost to Health NZ's bottom-line was 'a bit like your boss giving you a $3000 payrise each year for four years and then claiming your pay has gone up by $30,000 over that time, not $12,000'. The trick was to keep adding on the previous year's increase as 'new money', ignoring the fact that it would have been eaten up by inflation. 'It's a very creative ploy that one, so I think we need to see it for what it is,' he said. 'All governments do this sort of thing, but in the scheme of things, this one is pretty brazen.' Dumping pay equity claims, including for primary care nurses, saved the Government about $420 million in health, which mostly paid for the near $500 million investment in digital health, after hours and urgent care in the Budget, he said.
Scoop
29-05-2025
- Scoop
Government's Health Boost Less Than Claimed, Expert Says
$31b for Health in Budget 2025 just 3.6 percent increase, compared with what was "actually spent" in 2024/25, Professor Tim Tenbensel says Most of last year's boost to HNZ's bottom-line "absorbed" by Holidays Act remediation payouts to staff Axing pay equity settlements in the health sector "saved" the Government $420m. A leading health systems expert is questioning the Government's claim of "record investment" in the public system, saying the real increase to the health budget this year is half of what the government claims. Health Minister Simeon Brown and Finance Minister Nicola Willis have said the $31 billion allocation for health in Budget 2025 represented an operating funding increase of 7.4 percent - or nearly $2 billion - year on year. The two ministers donned hard hats and high-vis vests for a site visit at Wellington Regional Hospital on Wednesday, where they announced details of a further $100 million investment in its ongoing upgrade. Speaking to media following the tour, Brown said Health NZ had also had a $1.4 billion uplift in operating funding this year - the second instalment of a $16.6 billion cost-pressure boost over four years. "It's a significant uplift to allow them to invest in the front-line workforce required to give New Zealanders and timely and quality healthcare they need," Brown said. The government's investment in health far outstripped either population growth or inflation, the Finance Minister added. "For context, that operational funding uplift was more than 7 percent over what it's been, which even on a population basis is more than 6 percent," Willis said. "So, we're ensuring that funding is going in at a far faster rate than either population growth or inflation." In response to RNZ's request for a detailed breakdown of the percentage increase, Brown's office later said the figure of 6.2 percent was "based on Treasury's annual growth rates set out in Budget Economic and Fiscal Update 2025, and the nominal Vote Health operating spend for Budget 2025". However, Auckland University health policy Professor Tim Tenbensel said, according to his calculations, the $31 billion allocated for health in the Budget was only 3.6 percent more than what was actually spent last year. "So, we're pretty much treading water at best, or rather sinking a little, in this budget," Prof Tenbensel said. Furthermore, operational funding last year only increased about 1.2 percent in real terms. "And the reason for that is because a lot of the money for this financial year's Budget in health was soaked up to remediate the underpayment of staff under the Holidays Act," he said. "So, that might help to explain the reality of people in the sector wasn't matching some of the things said by government." Tenbensel said the Government's oft-quoted claim of a $16 billion boost to Health NZ's bottom-line was "a bit like your boss giving you a $3000 payrise each year for four years and then claiming your pay has gone up by $30,000 over that time, not $12,000". The trick was to keep adding on the previous year's increase as "new money", ignoring the fact that it would have been eaten up by inflation. "It's a very creative ploy that one, so I think we need to see it for what it is," he said. "All governments do this sort of thing, but in the scheme of things, this one is pretty brazen." Dumping pay equity claims, including for primary care nurses, saved the Government about $420 million in health, which mostly paid for the near $500 million investment in digital health, after hours and urgent care in the Budget, he said.
