Cyber attack: Waikato Hospital covers bill for Tauranga Hospital patient transfer, for now

Patients transferred to Tauranga Hospital from Waikato District Health Board following the cyber attack will be paid for by Waikato. Photo / NZME

Waikato District Health Board will foot the bill for all patients who have been transferred to Tauranga Hospital following the cyber attack - for now.

Earlier this week the Waikato DHB confirmed cancer patients were being sent to Tauranga Hospital for treatment, based on the merits of each patient's situation.

Executive director of hospital and community services Chris Lowry said urgent patients had been sent to Auckland, while the others were being split between Tauranga and Wellington hospitals.

The DHB's entire IT system crashed on Tuesday last week during a cyber attack described as "the biggest in New Zealand's history".

Some surgeries and clinics at the Waikato DHB's five hospitals have been postponed and non-urgent cases are being asked to stay away from emergency departments. Experts are scrambling to get the system up and running but any fix is unlikely till at least next week.

NZME reported earlier this week at least 17 patients had been transferred to Tauranga Hospital.

Waikato Hospital chief executive Dr Kevin Snee. Photo / NZME

Waikato Hospital chief executive Kevin Snee said Waikato Hospital would pick up the bill but there would be further conversations about it the longer it went on.

"How it is being paid for in the long run, remains for discussion.

"In effect, it is a disaster on a national scale as we are seeing. That is why there is so much being mobilised nationally to support us."

Snee didn't believe there would be a significant impact on Tauranga Hospital's patients.

"The number of patients that have needed to be transferred to date are not significant enough to have made a big impact. Whether or not that will be the case, in the long run, remains to be seen."

He said where they could, the Waikato DHB wanted to use the capacity in the private sector as well.

Grace Hospital general manager Janet Keys said the private hospital in Tauranga was always happy to assist wherever it could, but had not been asked to do anything in this instance.

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board declined to comment on any matter in relation to the Waikato Hospital cyber attack.