Nelson’s Hands-on Message To Te Whatu Ora Over Patient Safety

More than 200 people are expected to make a chain around Nelson Hospital on Saturday, to demand a new hospital immediately and enough staff to care for the community.

Nelson residents will go hand-in-hand with unions New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO), Public Service Association (PSA) and Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS) to further highlight the hospital’s troubles including understaffing, structural deficiencies and even pest-related woes.

NZNO delegate Amanda Field says the Government’s failure to adequately fund healthcare means management of Nelson Hospital is being forced to make difficult decisions that hurt both patients and staff.

"Cutting back on workers and prioritising the budget and targets not only raises health and safety risks for the treatment of vulnerable patients and exhausted staff but also leaves the building maintenance underfunded. Every staff member who works in healthcare has the patient at the centre of their work. As soon as the focus is on targets and budgets the patient journey becomes secondary.

"We are appealing to the Government for more funding, employing appropriate staffing numbers and a specific commitment to building the new hospital."

Field says local communities are feeling frustrated and worried that 23 years after a new hospital was promised there’s still no sign of one.

"People of Nelson are really motivated. Hands around the hospital is an opportunity for the community to come together and show their concern and support.

They are speaking out about their experiences. They are frustrated they have been made to wait since 2002, and waitlists are impacting on the health of patients and healthcare workers’ wellbeing.

"Health and safety of patients and staff is paramount. Doctors and nurses are speaking out because they are primarily concerned about the health of this community, which are all a part of."

Hands around the Nelson Hospital starts at 12 noon outside Hospital Main Entrance on Tipahi Street.

"The chain will be on the footpath on the roadside around the hospital and not on the hospital grounds, so there’s no risk of impacting services," Field says.

"We urge anyone who can make it to join us."

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