Latest news with #EmergencyDepartments
Scoop
10-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Hospices At Risk Of Disappearing
Wayne Naylor, Chief Executive, Hospice New Zealand, which represents New Zealands 32 hospices, says without fair and sustainable funding, hospices, and the critical services they provide, are at risk of disappearing. Hospices around Aotearoa New Zealand are at risk of cutting services as underfunding by the government pushes them to the brink. Last year Hospice provided free care to nearly 11,000 people who died last year, almost a third of all deaths in New Zealand, along with another 9,000 people living with a terminal illness. This essential support to people and their whānau cost $226 million. While the government provided $114 million, hospices had to raise a further $112 million through Hospice Op shops, community donations, fundraising and bequests, to keep their doors open. Wayne Naylor, Chief Executive, Hospice New Zealand, which represents New Zealand's 32 hospices, says without fair and sustainable funding, hospices, and the critical services they provide, are at risk of disappearing. 'This Hospice Awareness Week our message has never been clearer. If the Government doesn't act now to invest fairly in hospice care, it is the terminally ill in need of Hospice care and their loved ones who will pay the price. 'Hospices are already facing major disruption and reducing offerings. 'Without more funding, we risk losing these vital services when people need them most,' says Mr Naylor. The unprecedented strain on hospices comes despite the recent release of the Report ' Sustainable Funding for Hospice Services, by research agency Martin Jenkins. The report shows that Hospices are not only a smart investment economically for the health system, they also provide better outcomes. Through providing free, end-of-life care to thousands of New Zealanders every year, they're relieving the pressure on Emergency Departments and freeing up hospital beds. Local hospices are providing taxpayers value by saving the public sector a conservative $110 million dollars per year and returning at least $1.59 in health benefits for every dollar of government funding. Hospice care in the community relieves an already overstretched health system which would otherwise have to care for the thousands of patients and families who use it. Mr Naylor says that a new sustainable funding model needs to be implemented, rather than just talked about. 'We now need to have hard conversations about future funding, particularly as the demand for hospice care continues to rise, as our population grows older and lives longer. It is predicted that the number of people needing palliative care will increase by 50% by 2040. 'We want the government to act and invest now if it is to appropriately meet current and growing future need for high quality end of life care,' says Mr Naylor. A Post Code Lottery 'Many communities aren't in a position to provide the additional millions of dollars required to keep services free, never mind expanding hospice care and extending it to those currently missing out because of where they live or their diagnosis. 'We can't keep relying on the generosity of community to keep our doors open, when costs far exceed our funding, 'says Tony Paine, Chief Executive of Mary Potter Hospice in Wellington. 'We are making savings in non-clinical areas where possible but there's no room to expand our services to meet the needs of a growing population with complex needs,' he says. Hospices are already making cutbacks that include reducing inpatient beds, keeping clinical roles vacant and restricting admissions. 'Many remaining doctors and nurses are even having to take on extra workloads to cover for overstretched GP clinics and aged care facilities in their regions. 'It is the persistent case of post-code lottery that the Government says it wants to remove with its health reforms. Many people are missing out due to their diagnosis, age and where they live,' says Mr Naylor. 'The situation every hospice is in, means having to make some unprecedented decisions this year. 'We don't want to end up in the crisis currently facing hospices in England and Wales where dying people cannot access the care they need when they need it most.' In Numbers: In 2023/2024 Hospice across Aotearoa Provided care to 19,151 people, plus their whānau. Cared for 10,860 people who died. Provided 313,911 face to face visits. Made 394,215 telephone and telehealth interventions to patients and whānau members. 40% of hospice patients died in their own home (compared to just 22% of general population / all deaths stats). Provided 25,105 grief and loss contacts. Had to raise over $112m through their second-hand retail shops, fundraising, donations, and other sources, including from reserves, to keep afloat. What a shortage of funds looks like in terms of disruption and responding to patient needs: Reduction in inpatient beds Delays and freezes on recruitment Restricting admissions and stricter on referrals (meaning those patients on the periphery of need are missing out) Reduced community care – ie stopping the hospital liaison nurse service that helps to support a safe discharge from hospital back into the community Nurses for In-patient beds moving to 12-hour shifts An inability to grow in line with demand is, in itself, a barrier to delivering equitable and timely access to high-quality palliative care. Using hospice doctors and nurses to fill the gaps that GPs and ARC facilities are not able to do at present. The recent Martin Jenkins Economic Report : 'Sustainable Funding for Hospice Services: is both compelling and conservative: Every $1 taxpayers invest in hospice services yields at least $1.59 in system savings Hospices currently save the health system $110 million per year in direct clinical cost They generate $48 million in quality-of-life benefits for patients and their whānau (e.g. returning to work and school earlier with bereavement support) Hospice care reduces ED admissions and hospitalisations Hospices directly support primary and aged residential care teams
Scoop
07-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Police Won't Spend More Than An Hour On Most Mental Health Cases
More hospitals and communities will be subject to changes in the way police deal with mental health callouts after 19 May. Shorter hand-overs to Emergency Departments (EDs), and tighter rules for people in distress in police custody will be rolled out across more health districts in a little over a week's time. The changes are part of Phase Two of the police's withdrawal from mental health events, which were announced in August last year. They were initially planned to be implemented between January and March, but have been pushed amid safety concerns. The key changes in Phase Two are: Police spending no more than 60 minutes when handing over a person detained under the Mental Health Act to EDs, unless they consider there is an immediate risk to life or safety; People in custody under the Mental Health Act need to be taken to a health facility within 30 minutes. The changes kicked in across a first tranche of health districts on 14 April – including Waitematā, Counties Manukau, Waikato (excluding Tokoroa and Taumarunui), Nelson-Marlborough, and West Coast. On Tuesday, the police and Health New Zealand (HNZ) announced that from 19 May, the changes will be extended to Auckland, Canterbury, South Canterbury, Capital Coast and Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, Bay of Plenty, Lakes (excluding Taupō), Hawke's Bay (excluding Wairoa), Tairāwhiti, and Southern (excluding Waitaki and Southern Lakes) districts. The police said they expect that a third tranche of districts will see the Phase Two changes implemented after 16 June, pending final readiness assessments. Police Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson said police remained committed to a system that supported mental wellbeing, and gave people access to the best help that 'works for them'. 'Outside of an emergency, police have a threshold for what mental health related work sits with police and what doesn't,' he said. 'This supports us all to clarify roles and responses, ensuring police are only involved where it's appropriate – that means where there is an offence identified (that we would attend through normal prioritisation) or where there is an immediate risk to life or safety,' he added. HNZ national director of mental health and addiction Phil Grady said workforce shortages were a long-standing issue, with many comparable countries struggling with similar challenges. He said HNZ was continuing to recruit and fill mental health vacancies. Grady said HNZ continued to work with police, the Ministry of Health, St John ambulance and Wellington Free Ambulance on the changes to how agencies respond to mental health. HNZ director of specialist mental health and addiction, Karla Bergquist, said the safety and wellbeing of patients and staff was paramount. 'We have adopted a staged approach and extended our timeframes for Phase Two, introducing it in a planned and safe way,' she said. 'As part of this planning work, we have developed new procedures with clinical input and created training materials for staff to support them through this change.' The Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey said in a statement that the safety of patients and staff has been and will remain the top priority through the change process. 'This is evident by this being a phased approach with each phase only being activated when and if it is safe to do so,' he said, pointing to that the districts greenlighted for Phase Two have been assessed for their readiness. 'At the end of the day, we want what's best for those suffering from mental distress. The approach we are transitioning to moves away from those seeking support to now receive a mental health response, rather than a criminal justice response,' he said. Doocey said he's made it a priority ensure that the government grows the mental health workforce. PSA union calling for better support Meanwhile the Public Service Association (PSA) is calling on the government to take urgent action to address what it said was an acute shortage of mental health workers. The union said it had sighted a draft report to Doocey, which stated that 1485 more frontline mental health and addiction workers were needed right now, including 470 specialist nurses, 145 psychiatrists and 145 clinical psychologists. 'There is a crisis in every hospital where mental health workers are under more pressure than ever. The phased withdrawal of police support is compounding the problem,' PSA's national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said. PSA was asking the government to fill all vacancies, lift the hiring ban across the country, and reinstate police support for all mental health call outs. RNZ has asked police, Health NZ and Police Minister Mark Mitchell for comment. Recent HNZ data showed hundreds more health workers were assaulted at work last year – with Auckland central and Waikato seeing the biggest spikes. Nationally, about 14,000 assaults on staff by patients, family members and visitors, were recorded in the two-year period between January 2023 and December 2024 – amounting to a 30 percent increase over the period. Auckland central (covering Auckland City Hospital, Starship Children's Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre) saw the number of attacks double over the period, and accounted for 57 percent of the national increase.
Scoop
07-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Police Won't Spend More Than An Hour On Most Mental Health Cases
Shorter hand-overs to Emergency Departments (EDs), and tighter rules for people in distress in police custody will be rolled out across more health districts in a little over a week's time. The changes are part of Phase Two of the police's withdrawal from mental health events, which were announced in August last year. They were initially planned to be implemented between January and March, but have been pushed amid safety concerns. The key changes in Phase Two are: Police spending no more than 60 minutes when handing over a person detained under the Mental Health Act to EDs, unless they consider there is an immediate risk to life or safety; People in custody under the Mental Health Act need to be taken to a health facility within 30 minutes. The changes kicked in across a first tranche of health districts on 14 April - including Waitematā, Counties Manukau, Waikato (excluding Tokoroa and Taumarunui), Nelson-Marlborough, and West Coast. On Tuesday, the police and Health New Zealand (HNZ) announced that from 19 May, the changes will be extended to Auckland, Canterbury, South Canterbury, Capital Coast and Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, Bay of Plenty, Lakes (excluding Taupō), Hawke's Bay (excluding Wairoa), Tairāwhiti, and Southern (excluding Waitaki and Southern Lakes) districts. The police said they expect that a third tranche of districts will see the Phase Two changes implemented after 16 June, pending final readiness assessments. Police Assistant Commissioner Mike Johnson said police remained committed to a system that supported mental wellbeing, and gave people access to the best help that "works for them". "Outside of an emergency, police have a threshold for what mental health related work sits with police and what doesn't," he said. "This supports us all to clarify roles and responses, ensuring police are only involved where it's appropriate - that means where there is an offence identified (that we would attend through normal prioritisation) or where there is an immediate risk to life or safety," he added. HNZ national director of mental health and addiction Phil Grady said workforce shortages were a long-standing issue, with many comparable countries struggling with similar challenges. He said HNZ was continuing to recruit and fill mental health vacancies. Grady said HNZ continued to work with police, the Ministry of Health, St John ambulance and Wellington Free Ambulance on the changes to how agencies respond to mental health. HNZ director of specialist mental health and addiction, Karla Bergquist, said the safety and wellbeing of patients and staff was paramount. "We have adopted a staged approach and extended our timeframes for Phase Two, introducing it in a planned and safe way," she said. "As part of this planning work, we have developed new procedures with clinical input and created training materials for staff to support them through this change." The Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey said in a statement that the safety of patients and staff has been and will remain the top priority through the change process. "This is evident by this being a phased approach with each phase only being activated when and if it is safe to do so," he said, pointing to that the districts greenlighted for Phase Two have been assessed for their readiness. "At the end of the day, we want what's best for those suffering from mental distress. The approach we are transitioning to moves away from those seeking support to now receive a mental health response, rather than a criminal justice response," he said. Doocey said he's made it a priority ensure that the government grows the mental health workforce. PSA union calling for better support Meanwhile the Public Service Association (PSA) is calling on the government to take urgent action to address what it said was an acute shortage of mental health workers. The union said it had sighted a draft report to Doocey, which stated that 1485 more frontline mental health and addiction workers were needed right now, including 470 specialist nurses, 145 psychiatrists and 145 clinical psychologists. "There is a crisis in every hospital where mental health workers are under more pressure than ever. The phased withdrawal of police support is compounding the problem," PSA's national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said. PSA was asking the government to fill all vacancies, lift the hiring ban across the country, and reinstate police support for all mental health call outs. RNZ has asked police, Health NZ and Police Minister Mark Mitchell for comment. Recent HNZ data showed hundreds more health workers were assaulted at work last year - with Auckland central and Waikato seeing the biggest spikes. Nationally, about 14,000 assaults on staff by patients, family members and visitors, were recorded in the two-year period between January 2023 and December 2024 - amounting to a 30 percent increase over the period. Auckland central (covering Auckland City Hospital, Starship Children's Hospital and Greenlane Clinical Centre) saw the number of attacks double over the period, and accounted for 57 percent of the national increase.
