Report a wake-up call for Government

NEW ZEALAND MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (NZMA) MEDIA RELEASE

FROM: Dr Ross Boswell, Chairman NZMA

DATE: Thursday, 12 April 2007

SUBJECT: Report a wake-up call for Government

The Government and all District Health Boards should heed the lessons from today’s report of the Health and Disability Commissioner into Wellington Hospital, says the NZMA.

Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson found serious failings in the care a 50-year-old patient received in Wellington Hospital in September 2004, over the 40 hours prior to his death.

While the report found deficiencies in the care given by some individual doctors and nurses, it highlights the difficult working environment faced by the staff at Capital and Coast Health, said NZMA Chairman Dr Ross Boswell.

“Not only were many staff overworked, but key aspects of the clinical services within the DHB were disorganised. Both of these factors contributed to the series of systems failures which occurred in the lead-up to the man’s death.

“All DHBs need to ensure that the working environment for staff is supportive, that staff are not overworked, and that systems are in place for the safe and appropriate care of patients.”

The report is also a wake-up call for the Government, Dr Boswell said.

“Every week we hear of new difficulties facing DHBs. It’s not good enough for the Government to expect individual DHBs to sort out their problems in a piecemeal way when clearly there are national issues that need to be addressed. These include ensuring there is a well-trained high quality workforce available to cover all of New Zealand, and that conditions of work are conducive to good practice.”

“The Government needs to stop passing the buck - DHBs are government agencies responsible to the Minister of Health, and national improvements to the health sector need to come from the government level. It must take a more strategic approach to addressing workforce issues. The NZMA has been calling for a national medical workforce strategy for many years, and we are still waiting.”

ENDS

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