Latest news with #BullerDeclaration
Otago Daily Times
09-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Petition on display as minister arrives
A petition calling for the health system to be fixed has arrived in Gore. The Buller Declaration is a petition started in September last year following the closure of the Buller regional hospital on the West Coast. The petition states healthcare is in a state of crisis and requires intervention by the government as well as the allocation of more resources for staffing issues. It also states the rural, Māori and poorer populations are being further victimised by this crisis, and the government must meet its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. Already the petition has received thousands of signatures, with more to come as it sits in the foyer of Gore Health until the end of the month. Gore Health chief executive Karl Metzler said there was a tremendous amount of pressure being put on hospitals, especially in the South, due to a medical downturn. "General practices are like the canary in the coal mine. When they're not running or resourced well, you see the flow-on effect in EDs [emergency departments]. "Our little rural ED has gone from 6000 visits in 2021/22, to a 45% increase to over 10,000 visits this financial year. This is not sustainable," he said. Waiting lists are only growing longer, Mr Metzler said, it was becoming nearly impossible to access specialists in Southland. Mr Metzler said in a region with such strong economic drive there needed to be some reciprocity for the health sector down South. "We are a major food basket for this country and I think we're really getting short changed on the healthcare front, despite the tax dollars we contribute." Mr Metzler was hoping to raise awareness of the issue and also the petition. He was optimistic it would get a lot of support from the community. • Yesterday, after The Ensign 's deadline, Gore Health was due to host Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey. Earlier in the week, Mr Metzler said the meeting would also also be a great chance to promote what a rural hospital could be. "Gore has a lot to showcase and celebrate as a community-owned, integrated health facility. It's quite unique and I think we should be proud. "But it's also an opportunity to highlight some of the rural inequity of being a trust-owned hospital." Mr Metzler said as a trust-owned hospital, funding from Health New Zealand was a drop in the bucket compared to other facilities.
Otago Daily Times
06-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Health petition arrives, minister's visit looms
"General practices are like the canary in the coal mine. When they're not running or resourced well, you see the flow-on effect in EDs" — Karl Metzler. Photo: Linda Robertson Gore Health will be hosting quite a pairing this week, a petition calling the state of healthcare an emergency and the associate health minister. The Buller Declaration is a petition started in September last year following the closure of the Buller regional hospital on the West Coast. The petition states healthcare is in a state of crisis and requires intervention by the government as well as the allocation of more resources for staffing issues. It also states the rural, Māori and poorer populations are being further victimised by this crisis, and the government must meet its obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi. Already the petition has received thousands of signatures, with more to come as it sits in the foyer of Gore Health until the end of the month. Gore Health chief executive Karl Metzler said there was a tremendous amount of pressure being put on hospitals, especially down South, due to a medical downturn. "General practices are like the canary in the coal mine. When they're not running or resourced well, you see the flow-on effect in EDs [emergency departments]. "Our little rural ED has gone from 6000 visits in 2021/22, to a 45% increase to over 10,000 visits this financial year. This is not sustainable," he said. Waiting lists are only growing longer, Mr Metzler said, it was becoming nearly impossible to access specialists in Southland. Mr Metzler said in a region with such strong economic drive there needed to be some reciprocity for the health sector down South. "We are a major food basket for this country and I think we're really getting short changed on the healthcare front, despite the tax dollars we contribute." Mr Metzler was hoping to raise awareness of the issue and also the petition. He was optimistic it would get a lot of support from the community. Tomorrow, Gore Health will be hosting Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey, who is responsible for mental and rural health. Mr Metzler said although he will be discussing issues with the minister, it would also be a great chance to promote what a rural hospital can be. "Gore has a lot to showcase and celebrate as a community-owned, integrated health facility. It's quite unique and I think we should be proud. "But it's also an opportunity to highlight some of the rural inequity of being a trust-owned hospital." Mr Metzler said as a trust-owned hospital, funding from Health New Zealand was a drop in the bucket compared to other facilities.
NZ Herald
22-04-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Doctor shortages, delays spark healthcare concerns in Northland
The meeting was part of a roadshow by Patient Voice Aotearoa chairman Malcom Mulholland that aimed to demystify the healthcare system. The meetings were also an opportunity for attendees to sign the Buller Declaration, which calls on the Government to recruit and train medical professionals, address the health system crisis, and meet its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The declaration will be delivered to Parliament on November 18. Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo and Green MP Hūhana Lyndon attended the April 13 meeting alongside nurses, doctors, and midwives. For Payinda, the meeting was a call to action. 'I want a pots and pans rally at the politician's office.' Patients waiting in corridors was normal during busy periods at Whangārei Hospital, he said. Te Whatu Ora Te Tai Tokerau group director of operations Alex Pimm called hospitals and emergency departments busy environments. Diffferent spaces in the emergency department were utilised when a higher volume of patients needed accommodating, he said. Payinda said staff, including himself, had been asked to cover shifts in Kaitāia and the Bay of Islands hospitals. Pimm said peaks in demand, unplanned absences or roster gaps elsewhere occasionally required staff to travel to work shifts. As of January, Health NZ was recruiting for 46 senior doctors, but Pimm said several positions have since been filled. Payinda claimed Whangārei Hospital's emergency department was in Code Red almost daily. Code Red is the peak of the nationally used colour-coded escalation levels, which are green-yellow-amber-red. Code Red last year replaced Code Black after the term was axed by Health NZ. Payinda criticised the change as 'smoke and mirrors'. 'Why did they get rid of Code Black? Because it looks really bad,' he claimed. Health NZ refuted the characterisation of Code Black as smoke and mirrors. 'Health NZ has aligned the previous colour coding systems to be nationally consistent to ensure standardisation across the country,' Pimm said. 'Whangārei Hospital simply adopted the National Escalation Framework in September 2024.' Payinda believed places such as Northland were the 'canaries in the coal mine' — early indicators of potential failures or dangers. He said Dargaville Hospital operating without doctors was an example. 'It's ridiculous because it doesn't need to be like this.' Whangārei Mayor Vince Cocurullo said Northland had long been an afterthought despite its level of need. 'When we look at the hospital itself, it needs that rebuild, and it has been needing that rebuild for a hell of a long time.' He felt the former District Health Board structure — canned in 2022 and replaced with Health NZ — had worked. Cocurullo wanted the Government to acknowledge the dire state of need in the region. Patients calling on Mulholland for help had prompted the roadshow. 'I've never been to a meeting where they've gone our healthcare system is brilliant,' Mulholland said. 'Most, if not all, agree it's a healthcare crisis.' During the Kaitāia pit stop, he heard concerns around an ageing GP population and Far North residents struggling to find places to register. People were travelling outside the region for medical care, he said. Minister of Health Simeon Brown said the Government had inherited a health system that was 'failing patients'. Brown believed the restructuring of the health system had taken away communities' voices. He said the Government was regionalising Health NZ to deliver more healthcare to local communities. 'We are also investing in more frontline healthcare workers, with record numbers of nurses and doctors now working in our hospitals across New Zealand and in Northland.' Brown said Northland had recorded an increase in healthcare staff, such as nurses, junior doctors, and senior medical officers. Pimm said the safety of patients was paramount. 'We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our people who aim to ensure that patients are cared for and supported across Te Tai Tokerau.'
