Latest news with #HealthNewZealandTeWhatuOra
Otago Daily Times
20-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Lab should be open seven days: widower
A grieving widower is vowing to continue a campaign to improve access to the Dunedin cardiac cath lab after his wife's death. Sheralyn Weepers, a te reo Māori teacher at Bayfield High School, died in 2023 on the day she was due to fly to Sydney for a life-saving heart transplant. She was 48. Her husband, Sam, said her death came a year after she had to be resuscitated at Dunedin Hospital when she had a heart attack on a Monday morning. She had been in the hospital over the weekend with heart pain but had not been treated in the catheterisation laboratory (cath lab) because her condition was not considered acute enough to call someone in at the weekend. Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora has stood by its decision not to treat Mrs Weepers in the cath lab — where treatments such as the insertion of stents and pacemakers are done — that weekend. The Weepers family, who believe the damage to her heart caused during that incident might have been avoided had she been treated at the cath lab, is now working hard to try to prevent others from having to go through the same thing. They want Dunedin Hospital to have a fulltime operational lab, instead of being closed at the weekend to all but acute cases. Mr Weepers now stands outside Dunedin Hospital at the weekends, protesting the weekend closure of the cath lab to everyone not assessed as in need of urgent care. Just because it's a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, it shouldn't matter — it should be open for anyone who needs it," he said on a recent weekend. Before she passed away, she said to me ... she wanted to make some noise about what happened here," Mr Weepers said. I'm out here really, to make sure she's remembered." He has also started a petition urging the government to fund the Dunedin Hospital to run a fulltime operational cath lab. His wife was originally diagnosed with spontaneous coronary artery dissection (Scad) in March 2012, after going to Dunedin Hospital in the evening with heart attack symptoms, Mr Weepers said. She was transferred straight to the cath lab where she received an angiogram and preventive surgery. Ten years later, on May 13, 2022 — a Friday night — Mrs Weepers went to the Dunedin Hospital at 11pm where she was diagnosed with symptoms of a heart attack", he said. It was written in her file that Mrs Weepers had Scad, but it was decided the on-call cardiologist at the time would not be called in. ... she needed care, but they would not open the lab, because it was the weekend," Mr Weepers said. He recalled being told his wife would need to wait until Monday and that she was fourth on the priority list to be seen. She stayed in hospital but had a heart attack at 2am on Monday, Mr Weepers said. She was resuscitated, transferred to ICU and later had an angiogram and curative cardiac surgery. However, her heart suffered irreparable damage" and she was diagnosed with heart failure and had a significant reduction in heart function, Mr Weepers said. She was deemed too high risk and was declined cardiac surgery in New Zealand. In May 2023, the couple flew to Adelaide for cardiac surgery; however, when there, doctors advised her she needed a full heart transplant and the plan was changed to fly to Sydney for the surgery as soon as possible. On May 15, 2023, she was due to fly to Sydney. At 2am she had an unexpected suspected ventricular fibrillation and died despite resuscitation efforts, he said. Since her death, Mrs Weepers' family have started Āwhinatia — the Sheralyn Tipene-Weepers Charitable Trust, in order to change the healthcare experience for Māori and other under-represented communities through early intervention, health education, advocacy and systemic change. Health New Zealand southern group director of operations Craig Ashton said HNZ's ongoing thoughts were with Mrs Weepers' whānau and he acknowledged the distress and impact losing a loved one had. He said HNZ had completed a thorough internal review of the case and was satisfied with the assessment and treatment provided to Mrs Weepers. We have communicated extensively with the family." He said the cath lab at Dunedin Hospital was open 24/7, during weekends and after hours. All patients are clinically assessed and have access to the cath lab for any acute or clinically urgent situations," he said.
Otago Daily Times
19-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Birthing unit fully staffed: HNZ
Following a series of closures at the beginning of the year and several Wānaka mothers being turned away from the local birthing unit, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) are adamant the facility is now fully staffed. There is a 60% shortage of midwives in the South Island, and Rākai Kahukura — Wānaka Maternity Unit was not immune to the impacts of a healthcare crisis and as a result had to be closed earlier this year. However, HNZ's Southern chief midwife Karen Ferraccioli said the unit had never been closed and was only on "standby". "A unit is placed on standby if there are no core staff working there at the time. The units are still open to our community-based LMCs [lead maternity carers] and their back-ups to provide labour and birth care if required," she said. But several mothers told The Wānaka Sun that they were turned away from the unit for postnatal care because it was understaffed. Wānaka midwife Emily Sancha said although the unit was available for birth or urgent assessments, mothers were turned away and unable to receive postnatal care when the unit was on standby. Almost 400 Otago Central Lakes patients gave birth outside the region in 2024, including 115 in Dunedin and 281 in Southland. The Wānaka Maternity Unit has hosted about 38 births and over 120 postnatal stays over the year that it has been open. Jessica Pearson, of Wānaka, was one of several mothers who faced a stressful time during her birth as a result of the unit being on standby. Due on December 26, she said she had been told by her midwife the unit was expected to be closed on certain days in December and January. "It was quite stressful. Because I just didn't really know where I was going to end up." Ms Pearson ended up needing to have an induced labour, which could only be done in Dunedin. She was hoping to still be able to have postnatal care in Wānaka, but was told the unit was closed and she had to go to the Alexandra birthing unit, away from her partner and son. "I felt comfortable having the birthing unit here but, in the end, I wasn't even able to give birth there or stay there so I kind of just thought, 'what was even the point?"' Wānaka mother Cha Herniot had some complications and, after giving birth in Dunedin, she was not able to access postnatal care at home due to understaffing. "We couldn't go to the one in Wānaka for the same problem, they were understaffed, so we drove from Dunedin to Alexandra and we stayed a couple of days there." Figures provided by HNZ show in four years there has been a 51% increase in Otago Central Lakes babies born in Dunedin and Southland hospitals, as well as a 51% increase in Otago Central Lakes residents being admitted to Dunedin and Southland hospitals. Wānaka's population has nearly doubled since 2013 and there are now 18,000 people living in the Upper Clutha, causing a push at capacity for the local health system. Wānaka mother Laura Puddy's due date was in January and she was also told to expect that she may not be able to give birth in Wānaka or stay for postnatal care, resulting in uncertainty and stress. "I think that all the way through your pregnancy, you're told that time needs to be the calmest. So if you have stresses around that due date, it can alter your experience." Ms Puddy had to give birth in Dunedin due to complications almost a month before her due date but was then able to receive postnatal care in Wānaka from December 31. She said the care she got in Wānaka was of a good standard, but it was difficult being unsure of whether she would be able to access it when needed. "The nurses and the midwives in my postnatal care helped me immeasurably," she said. The unit now boasts a team of 12 midwives, including six community-based LMCs, who provide care at the unit. Ms Ferraccioli said the standbys and refusals had happened due to unexpected roster gaps caused by sick and unplanned leave. "The Wānaka Primary Maternity Unit was placed on standby once in April 2025 and three times in May 2025, each time for half a day. No families were affected, and if they were, they would have been transferred to our Queenstown or Alexandra units." Emily Sancha, of Wānaka Midwives, said she was pleased to finally have all the staff it needed on board as the unit completed its first year in town. "We needed to fully staff the unit and with a national shortage of midwives it took a few months to get there, but we made it."
NZ Herald
16-07-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Labour ponders free tests as Government struggles with slow path to cervical cancer elimination
A report, obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act, noted that screening rates had fallen across the board during the pandemic, with the national rate of people up-to-date with their screening falling from 71.2% in October 2019 to 67.4% in October 2023. Slowly, screening rates have climbed, including among Māori, Pacific and Asian women, whose screening rates have tended to be below the national average. Rates of screening for Māori women only exceeded 2019 levels earlier this year. The report said that recovering screening rates were largely the result of new HPV self-tests. Of the 450,000 HPV primary screens completed between the rollout of HPV primary screening in September 2023 and October 2024, 81% were self-tests, the report said. Every three years, the Health Minister must appoint a Parliamentary Review Committee (which despite the name, does not include MPs) to review the National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP). The figures in this story were included in a briefing Brown received in October on the progress Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora was making towards the 31 recommendations made by the 2021-2023 committee. The briefing warned that the recommendations were 'highly ambitious and unfunded' and made during a time of 'tight fiscal settings'. Officials produced a traffic-light chart of all 31 recommendations, charting which ones were tracking to plan and which were not, rating them green to red for their deliverability. One recommendation that had been 'orange – paused' was 'considering options for the development of an elimination strategy' for the cancer. Brown said this had been started again. 'The Ministry of Health is leading the development of a cervical cancer elimination plan in partnership with the Cancer Control Agency,' he said. The only recommendation to be given a 'red – critical' rating was the recommendation to roll out free screening to all populations. 'Funding has not yet been secured for all population to receive free cervical screening in NZ,' the paper said. In 2023, the then Labour Government rolled out a new HPV test which could be self-administered. HPV causes over 95% of cervical cancers. This was accompanied by $7.3m to pay for free tests for some populations. The ability to self-test is meant to appeal to people who felt uncomfortable with the likes of a smear test, which are administered by someone else. Verrall said the cervical cancer screening programme was 'the only national screening programme where people are expected to pay for access'. 'Women might well ask, if I'm screening myself now, why do I have to pay?' she said. While some providers offered the service for free, others did not and required a co-payment or similar charge. Verrall said the test can be delivered in a diverse range of settings, allowing eligibility for free tests to be widened further. 'People who have the lowest participation and screening are those who sometimes struggle to pay,' she said.
Otago Daily Times
14-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Group shows confidence in hospital plan
A privately owned public hospital for the Central Otago-Queenstown Lakes area is not quite a done deal — but one might be forgiven for thinking so after a show of confidence from southern leaders. The Otago Central Lakes Health Services Project steering group issued a statement yesterday saying Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) was "prioritising" work on a clinical services plan for the region that would "clear the way" for a new hospital in the region. "It could be New Zealand's first large privately owned and publicly operated hospital," the statement said. HNZ did not respond to questions yesterday. However, the steering group — comprising Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Glyn Lewers, Waitaki MP Miles Anderson, Act New Zealand MP Todd Stephenson, of Queenstown, Southland MP Joseph Mooney and Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley — said it had a "positive meeting" with Health Minister Simeon Brown recently. Mr Mooney said the public-private partnership the steering group was pursuing was not yet a done deal — nor would a new hospital, in Queenstown, affect the status of the new Dunedin hospital as the region's tertiary hospital. "I guess there are no done deals — a lot of work has been done to get to this point and a lot more needs to be done," the National Party MP said. "It is arguably the farthest the region has got for a decade to getting a significant change to health services. "It will improve Central Lakes health, and it is also going to improve health services across the entire region because of the pressure of this fast-growing population. "Visitor numbers to Central Otago push a lot of people down to those base hospitals." He said HNZ had agreed to use "more accurate" council-derived population projections for its planning, instead of Stats NZ figures. Mr Mooney said the government statistics were off and "it would be silly" to model from inaccurate numbers. Stats NZ suggested the population was growing at 1.5% a year, when council statistics were closer to 6%, he said. Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown was built in 1988 to cater for 4500 people. The current combined resident-only Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts' population is 78,400. In 2024, Queenstown had a peak day population, including visitors, of 168,353. Peak day population is projected to be 303,628 by 2054. The update on the health project work came in the wake of a regional deal announcement for the area. At the start of the month, the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago district councils, along with the Otago Regional Council, won the right to negotiate a new 10-year partnership with central government designed to progress shared priorities. Yesterday's statement noted the regional deal proposal included health as a cornerstone. It said a hospital in Queenstown — "built and financed by a private investor from which public services can be delivered by HNZ" — was in the planning stage. It also touted private surgical hospitals for both Queenstown and Wanaka. Mr Lewers said investing in health in the area was a long time coming. "Until recently, despite our growth, Health NZ had no plans for expansion in our area. "We're finally on their radar." The hospital would work alongside current or planned private providers in Alexandra, Clyde, Cromwell, Wānaka and Queenstown, which, Mr Mooney said, would be co-ordinated. "We would start mapping and talking to what services already exist across all those centres." The statement from the steering group said decades of under-investment in health services and infrastructure in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago districts had led to problems when seeking speciality and emergency healthcare. Many patients in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago had to make a six-hour return drive for their healthcare. Last year, there were 300 helicopter transfers from Lakes District Hospital costing $6.3 million, it said.
Otago Daily Times
14-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
‘Marked improvement' in mental health shown
Matt Doocey. PHOTO: ODT FILES The South is showing "marked improvement" in most of its mental health targets, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. But health officials are asking the minister to be careful with the data, and an opposition MP says it does not reflect the feeling of staff. Mr Doocey has set specific targets for mental health delivery, including faster access to primary mental health and addiction services, faster access to specialist mental health and addiction services and shorter mental-health related stays in the emergency department. The Southern district has improved its performance in all three targets, and was successful in faster access to primary mental health and addiction services (91.6%) and shorter mental health and addiction-related stays in EDs (86%), Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora's most recent quarterly data says. The Southern district was also a shade under the target for access to specialist mental healthcare (78%). Mr Doocey said this was a "marked improvement" from two quarters ago, where Southern was languishing near the bottom of the table. "This government believes when someone is making the brave step of reaching out for help whether it's you, your child, a friend or family member, we are committed to ensuring we have the right support in place to answer that call, no matter where you are in New Zealand. "It is promising to see the third quarter target data show Southern are exceeding two out of three access targets. I have recently been in the Southern region where I met some of our hard-working frontline workers who are on the ground making a real difference in helping those in the region have access to faster mental health support." However, officials have also advised there were still some caveats around the data — particularly in ED presentations, where it "does not account for the complexities of acute presentations, for example people presenting with combinations of physical and mental symptoms, or presentations where the actual problem is not immediately obvious" and "does not reliably identify any addiction-related events". A late January briefing paper, released under the Official Information Act, urged Mr Doocey to be cautious when looking at the quarterly results. "This is the first attempt at this level of reporting on data against the mental health and addiction targets. "Unlike the wider health system targets, the datasets and reporting processes are new and the infrastructure supporting the process is evolving. It is critical to appreciate the preliminary nature of the data as a picture of performance against the mental health addiction targets at this juncture of the implementation and design." Labour MP for Taieri Ingrid Leary said the results did not reflect what she was hearing from frontline workers, who were still under-resourced and stretched. Many young people were waiting several months for mental health assistance, she said. "The caveats in the document might explain the chasm between the reality on the ground and the supposedly good results. "When you have so many waiting for mental healthcare, the results aren't worth the paper they're printed on." Meanwhile, Mr Doocey said yesterday he was pressing ahead with the creation of a Digital Mental Health Hub, which was aimed at improving access to mental health services. "A key component of the hub will be improving digital navigation to connect people with existing mental health services. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of the services already available to them and these navigation systems could be a game changer. "The road map is currently in development, and I am hoping to have more to say over the coming months."
