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RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Senior Gisborne Hospital doctors on 24-hour strike, say hospital 'on the brink of collapse'
Fifty senior doctors from Gisborne Hospital walked off the job at midnight for a 24-hour strike. Photo: Liam Clayton / The Gisborne Herald Fifty senior doctors from Gisborne Hospital walked off the job at midnight for a 24-hour strike in protest of their working conditions. The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) told RNZ 45 percent of senior medical officer roles are currently vacant at the hospital, and it has written to the government twice to express concern about the hospital being "on the brink of collapse". Senior doctor Alex Raines said they did not make the decision to strike lightly, as it will impact patients. "There will be some delays in outpatient clinics and things, I was supposed to see a number of patients on Wednesday that I won't be able to see this week. "Honestly those delays are small compared to the delays we have every week just due to short staffing," he said. Raines worries about the impact on all hospital staff, and said senior doctors are severely understaffed. "We are all really struggling and quite exhausted trying to keep things afloat. In my department of general medicine we are reliant on locums to keep the department from closing. "It's really challenging and limits what we can do for planned care - we're basically just keeping our acute services running," he said. The doctors also went on strike on 1 May, to highlight the staffing crisis, but Raines said they are doing it again because there has been no response from Health NZ or the government. "So we're still waiting for some kind of plan or strategy on how to staff our hospital long term. "Looking ahead we have multiple staffing gaps and we have no idea how to fill them and how we are going to keep our services open," said Raines. Health NZ's chief clinical officer Dr Richard Sullivan told RNZ it has been working hard with senior doctors in Tairāwhiti, as it has had challenges in recruiting senior staff into that region for many years. Dr Sullivan said locum doctors are supporting them, and permanent staff are on the way. "We have 11 permanent staff that have signed up to come over the coming months. But it does take time to recruit a senior doctor - particularly if they are coming from overseas by the time they go through the various steps," he said. Health NZ's chief clinical officer Dr Richard Sullivan. Photo: RNZ / Calvin Samuel He said it was unfortunate the doctors are holding a second strike this month. "This will have an impact. We will have to reduce the number of operations we undertake and we will have to reduce the number of clinics - that's unfortuante for patients in that community," he said. "I just want to recognise the stress on the permanent staff at Gisborne Hospital - it's been tough for them as they've had unfilled shifts for many years. It is a challenge - I completey accept that," said Dr Sullivan. Gisborne Hospital's former chief medical officer Eric McClean told RNZ these challenges have been ongoing for years, and there are some complex reasons behind it. "The shortage of senior doctors has really put us in a bind. Considering the complexities of the patient demographic we get ... it's really a struggle to manage and demand keeps going up each year. "Patients are living longer and we're seeing them more. With the decrease of primary care and lack of preventative care we get huge demands coming into the hospital," he said. Dr McClean said that means the hospital becomes a default for a lot of patients who cannot see a GP. "So with that we're unable to maintain proper staffing levels for senior medical officers ... and it's all the other support services, things like administrative support. "It is extremely difficult to hire to new administrative positions - you'll have entire departments without a PA - meaning all that work, documentation and even copies of things have to be done by the clinicians themselves," he said. Which he worries is adding to their burden of work. "It takes us away from our core responsibility which is seeing patients and making sure they are getting better," he said. The message from Tairāwhiti's senior doctors to government is clear. "Invest in our hospital, invest in our community. We know our community deserves better," said Dr Raines. The senior doctors will be on strike until 11:59pm Wednesday, and are raising money for the Tairāwhiti Super Grans food bank while they are off the job. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
01-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Gisborne hīkoi demands better health funding, highlights staffing crisis
Some motorists may have been annoyed by their journey being interrupted but many others tooted their horns to indicate their support for the walkers, banners and chants in favour of more health spending and worker rights. Members of the public were also involved in the hīkoi. 'I like the level of support and we've gained a whole lot of people as we've walked down the street,' Takoko said. 'They support the kaupapa of having appropriate health funding.' Health was underfunded, she said. 'We need more doctors; we need more nurses.' Dr Alex Raines, one of the Gisborne Hospital senior doctors involved in a 24-hour nationwide strike also held on Thursday, was among the speakers at Heipipi/Endeavour Park. Raines said the hospital had the highest senior doctor vacancy rate in the country – 44%. 'I'm pretty useless at the hospital unless surrounded by all the nurses I work with, the dieticians, the physios and all the other people I work with,' he said. 'When we stand together, that's when we can make a difference.' Gisborne-based Labour list MP Jo Luxton thanked the audience for turning up 'to fight for something you truly believe in'. Luxton said she shared 'your frustration, your fear and your deep sense of abandonment'. There were systemic cracks in the health system, chronic understaffing, underfunding, extreme staffing shortages and recruitment and retention failures, she said. 'It's time to stop the cuts. It's time to support and resource our hospital properly to employ and retain staff right here in Tairāwhiti [with] permanent staffing, fair allowances and the funding Gisborne Hospital needs to care for its people. 'This Government needs to commit to real solutions and meaningful investment. 'Tairāwhiti will not take it lying down.' Josephine Culshaw, a healthcare assistant in the aged care sector, told those at the meeting it had been 129 years since the first pay equity claim was filed. 'We've been waiting 129 years to be appreciated and respected, and to be paid what we deserve. We're missing out on $150 a week or $13,000 in the last thousand days. 'We're over it, we're fed up, we're frustrated and that's why we're here.' GP Hiria Nielsen, a co-owner of Three Rivers medical centre and a former Gisborne Hospital house officer, acknowledged the mahi of health professionals in the hospital. Speaking from the perspective of the primary health sector, 'if you fall over, we fall over, and vice-versa', she said. 'We support you. Keep it up. We're behind you right to the end.' Thursday was also a nationwide day of action for the country's union movement. Those involved in Gisborne combined with the Fight for Health hīkoi.
