Latest news with #MiddlemoreHospital
RNZ News
4 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Concerns over Pasifika healthcare access in Aotearoa
The Fono chief executive Tevita Funaki Photo: Dominic Godfrey / RNZ Pacific The chief executive of The Fono, New Zealand's largest Pacific health provider, has raised concern about Pasifika healthcare access in the Budget. Fiugalu Tevita Funaki told PMN there are some wins and some concerns in the country's 2025 budget . "I think primary care for us is around access. There are some significant issues around access and even looking at some of the baseline funding to alleviate some of the issues within primary care is actually not in there." Fiugalu said any money towards after-hours care is important. He said there are some Auckland practices delivering after-hours care, but it was important to be in an area where Pasifika live and can easily access. He said the literacy around how to access care is also important. He acknowledged the issues with overcrowding at Middlemore Hospital and said there's no doubt Pasifika tend to go to secondary care like hospitals rather than primary care in winter. "My view around health is that the investments to reduce the burdens on secondary care, where the cost is actually huge, is investments around primary care and investments around preventive medicines." Fiugalu said The Fono's relationships with Pacific clients at the primary care level support the view that investments in primary care eases the pressure on secondary care. "This is why I'm going to flag around the lack of investments into primary care, because that's where the preventative measures, the ongoing engagements with our families, [is] actually happening - at the primary care level." Minister of Health, Simeon Brown, argues the 2025 Budget "provided a significant boost" to primary care, "to make it easier for patients to see a doctor, and avoid unnecessary hospital visits". In a statement, he said this included NZ$285 million in performance-based funding over three years, to support primary practice to be more accessible for patients and deliver more services in the community; and NZ$447 million in 24/7 digital health services, after-hours and urgent care, and more funding for training doctors and nurses to work in primary care. Brown told RNZ Pacific his priority is ensuring that "all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare". "I am advised that Health New Zealand's Pacific Health Group is working closely with their Pacific provider partners to prioritise the health of Pacific communities. "Health New Zealand advises me that there are several campaigns targeting Pacific communities and families to alert them to the best ways to prioritise and manage their health, and to navigate the health system this winter. "These include Pacific language resources and translation services, and programmes run with Pacific health providers including The Fono." New Zealand's Pacific peoples minister says Pasifika people should see themselves in the Government's 2025 budget . "It is an economic growth agenda and Pasifika people will benefit from economic growth."
The Spinoff
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
Diary of a Junior Doctor will make you cry
Diary of a Junior Doctor reveals gut punching truths about working in a hospital, writes advisor Emma Wehipeihana. We played this game, as first year junior doctors at Middlemore Hospital – how long could you go before the job made you cry. Hours? Days? Weeks? Then we added layers. Did you embarrass yourself in public, or did you make it to your car/the toilet/a stairwell where you could cry in private? Did you pick yourself up and carry on, or did you have to go home? We collected these stories. Saying the hard stuff out loud gave the trauma a different form; a nidus for connection. If we all went through it, we couldn't be alone. Me? Three weeks, two days. The toilets on ward 34 East. The reason? Redacted. Shadie, the youngest doctor in the new TVNZ series Diary of a Junior Doctor, makes it to her car after her first 14 hour 'long day' shift before she sobs into the camera. When I watched the episode, I found myself nodding approvingly – good on her, she had her emotional breakdown at the end of her workday, in private. When the idea for this series was proposed by the production company Storymaker, I immediately wanted to be involved – just not on screen. I'd grown up (as a doctor) at Middlemore, but after a book and a podcast and all those bloody opinion pieces I really felt that nobody needed to hear anything else about my journey to becoming a doctor. I got the privilege of working behind the scenes as an advisor instead. This series, which follows five young doctors working in different specialties at Middlemore Hospital, is the epitome of show, don't tell. There's so much noise in the media about the state of the health system that you could be forgiven for thinking that this might be a politically-charged declaration of war against the State for not properly looking after patients, or health professionals, or our crumbling infrastructure. It's not that. Instead, you will walk alongside each of these junior doctors as they find a place to call home in the profession they (we) dreamed about entering. As you'll see, the dream takes some adjusting to. It's the work, sure. The anxiety, the workload, the terrifyingly vulnerable patients who are suddenly your responsibility. All of that, and more, makes for great TV. I was particularly moved by the generosity of the patients who gave their consent for their stories to be told. Their candour is an interesting juxtaposition to our current environment, where health professionals are being encouraged to say less publicly to advocate for our patients and simply work harder, focus on our KPIs. But what hits you in the guts is the impact on our junior doctors' lives outside of the hospital. Viewers will follow our doctors to and from work, through significant life events that are assaulted by the ever present cognitive and emotional load of working as a doctor. Quite different from the controlled environment of medical school, you watch as it dawns on the junior doctors that their decisions now have real consequences. Those consequences don't stay in the hospital at the end of the day; they go home with you to your spouse, partner, parents, and children. You're never really not at work, mentally. As you progress throughout your career as a doctor, you gain increasing responsibility – not just for patients but for the students and more junior doctors on your team. Almost as soon as you learn something, you're expected to teach it. You're always managing relationships in four directions; your patients, your bosses, your colleagues, your juniors. For myself, as difficult as it is to face my own challenges, it's even harder to watch others go through the stressors of working as a doctor in Aotearoa. I had a semi-public cry when I watched the first episode of this series with the production team. Everyone is trying so damn hard to do the right thing to give patients the care they deserve, too often at the expense of their own wellbeing. I didn't mind breaking my no-tears-at-work rule for them.
1News
01-06-2025
- Automotive
- 1News
One killed in horror crash on Auckland motorway, four injured
A man has died and four others are injured after a horror crash on Auckland's Northwestern Motorway overnight. Officers "became aware of a car on its roof in the citybound lanes" on State Highway 16, around Pt Chevalier, shortly after 11.05pm, a police spokesperson said. "One person had been ejected from the vehicle and another was trapped inside it, who was found to be deceased." Footage from the scene showed officers inspecting an overturned red car. St John said it responded with four ambulances, two rapid response units, and two managers. ADVERTISEMENT "Our crews assessed and treated four patients. One in a serious condition who was transported to Middlemore Hospital, one in a serious condition, one in a moderate condition, and one in a minor condition who were transported to Auckland City Hospital." Footage from the scene showed an upturned red car. (Source: 1News) The serious crash unit attended the scene, and the motorway was reopened around 3.20am. Vehicle traffic and bus services were diverted during the incident. King's Birthday road tolls stands at four A woman died in hospital on Saturday after a single-vehicle crash in Port Waikato on Friday night. A two-vehicle crash in Northland near Waiomio, south of Kawakawa, killed one person just after midnight on Saturday. A man died in Waipa, Waikato, after his vehicle rolled into a paddock on Saturday morning at around 7.40am. The official Easter holiday road toll period was from 4pm on Friday to 6am on Tuesday. Last year, three people died on New Zealand roads during the same period.
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Man arrested after 'violent' assault on woman in Auckland's Papatoetoe
Photo: A 25-year-old man has been arrested after a woman was violently assaulted in Papatoetoe, Auckland. An investigation began this month into the incident where a woman suffered a head injury in the early hours of 9 May on Sutton Crescent. "At around midnight, the victim and the offender had been walking along Sutton Crescent when an argument broke out between them," Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward said. "We do not know why this argument began but it has continued as the pair moved towards Kolmar Road." A second image of the wanted man. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police The woman tried to walk away from the man but was assaulted. "The force of the assault has caused the victim to fall to the ground," Detective Senior Sergeant Hayward said. "The offender has continued the violent assault and used extreme force on the woman." The woman was taken to Middlemore Hospital with serious injuries and was continuing to recover from her ordeal. Police obtained CCTV footage of the assault, which shows the man walking away from the scene a short time later. Police earlier on Wednesday appealed to the public for help finding the man pictured in CCTV images released. "There is no place for this extreme violence in the community, and I'm confident someone will know who this man is," Detective Senior Sergeant Hayward said earlier on Monday. In an update from police on Tuesday afternoon, Detective Senior Sergeant Hayward said a man turned up at Ōtāhuhu Police Station and has been arrested. He has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and will appear in the Manukau District Court on Thursday.
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Hunt on after 'violent' assault on woman in Auckland's Papatoetoe
A CCTV image of the man police want to speak to. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police Police are appealing for the public's help in identifying an alleged attacker in a violent assault on a woman in Papatoetoe. An investigation began this month into the incident where a woman suffered a head injury in the early hours of 9 May on Sutton Crescent. Police have has released images of a man sought in connection with the assault. "At around midnight, the victim and the offender had been walking along Sutton Crescent when an argument broke out between them," Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward said. "We do not know why this argument began but it has continued as the pair moved towards Kolmar Road." A second image of the wanted man. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police The woman tried to walk away from the man but was assaulted. "The force of the assault has caused the victim to fall to the ground," Detective Senior Sergeant Hayward said. "The offender has continued the violent assault and used extreme force on the woman." Police have since obtained CCTV footage of the assault, which shows the man walking away from the scene a short time later. The woman was taken to Middlemore Hospital with serious injuries and was continuing to recover from her ordeal. Hayward said no witnesses to the violent incident have been identified. Police have released the images in the hope of some information ftrom the public. "There is no place for this extreme violence in the community, and I'm confident someone will know who this man is. Anyone with information, can call 105 using the reference number 250509/4414. It can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
