Latest news with #Payinda
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
Whangārei Hospital spends $100K sending ED patients to private clinic
But one emergency doctor, Dr Gary Payinda, said the vouchers use taxpayer money on a private, for-profit clinic and would be better spent in the hospital. 'Why can't that money be used within the public sector to pay for nurses and nurse practitioners and doctors to care for patients directly ... instead of losing 10 to 20% on profits?' Payinda roughly calculated the money would pay for a nurse practitioner to work 28 hours a week, seeing between 2500 and 3680 patients a year. The use of vouchers shows Northlanders cannot afford to pay for private urgent care, which is 'really tragic', he said. The coalition Government is putting more money into private urgent care, including a $164 million investment over four years announced in Budget 2025. But Payinda said this model still relies on people being able to pay, which is not sustainable in Northland. Fees for the new urgent care services are still being worked out but a new virtual GP service will cost adults $25 to $33 with a community services card, or $69 to $99 without a card. Alex Pimm, group director of operations for Health NZ Te Tai Tokerau, said the vouchers are offered to people presenting at ED who are assessed to have a medical condition that can be appropriately managed in an urgent care clinic. Patients are given the option of going to the clinic or waiting to be seen at the ED and get a reminder message if they take the voucher but do not attend the clinic. A 2018 review in Auckland's Waitematā showed the voucher system had a positive impact on EDs by transferring lower-acuity patients to appropriate primary care, he said. Economic analysis found it was cost-effective but Health NZ will be reviewing the voucher system in the next financial year, to reassess value for money and identify any improvements, Pimm said. Whangārei Hospital is 'very busy' at this time of year, with winter illnesses putting extra pressure on all EDs, he said. However, Pimm would not detail the current occupancy rate at Northland's EDs, instead saying people needing urgent hospital-level care will 'always be able to receive it'. Health NZ group director Alex Pimm and Health Minister Simeon Brown, pictured at Whangārei Hospital, say new urgent care funding will result in more consistent fees. Health Minister Simeon Brown, when asked how the unaffordability of urgent care will be addressed, said fees will become more consistent as part of the Budget 2025 announcement. 'Health New Zealand will negotiate with providers in areas where improved urgent care has been identified to ensure services are in place – with a clearer fee structure as part of that work.' Whangārei has been identified as needing a new 24/7 urgent care service from 2026, building on the urgent care already available, he said. Extended after-hours services have been identified as needed in Dargaville, Hokianga, and Kaitāia, and enhanced rural urgent care has been identified for Mangawhai, Kawakawa, Kaikohe and Waipapa, he said. Urgent and after-hours care will also be strengthened in Russell and Kāeo, Brown said. Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
NZ Herald
01-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Doctors' strike puts spotlight on patient suffering and understaffing
It also highlights problems with the system, such as public hospitals' roofs leaking every time it rains, he said. ' There's a GP crisis and a hospital crisis, and the rhetoric of the Government far too often is just to deny the problem and refuse to implement the solution." He believed fairer wages for doctors and safer staffing levels in hospitals were needed. He rubbished Government claims that neither was affordable, pointing to the tax cuts given to landlords and higher wage earners. Health Minister Simeon Brown has expressed disappointment with the union, saying the strike will hurt patients. But Payinda said the support from the public has been 'overwhelming'. 'They understand that, despite what Simeon says, public doctors who have chosen to remain in the system, we're not the ones hurting their wellbeing.' Public action by those striking included pickets outside Whangārei and Kaitāia Hospitals. In Whangārei, the doctors were boosted by a combined union rally at Tarewa Park, led by the Council of Trade Unions. About 50 union members said they supported safe staffing and stopping health cuts, along with more general workers' rights: better deals for working people, recognition of workers' rights to organise, recognising kaimahi Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and pay equity. Health NZ said some appointments affected by the strike will need to be rescheduled, but all hospitals remained open on Thursday and emergency care was available.
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.'
