Doctor shortages, delays spark healthcare concerns in Northland

A Whangārei emergency doctor believes Northland patients are 'long suffering'. Photo / NZME

A Whangārei emergency doctor says the state of the healthcare system has left Northland patients “long-suffering”.

Whangarei Hospital consultant Dr Gary Payinda made the point at a meeting in the city about the national health system.

“We have a marginalised community that essentially has gotten so little for so long that they expect less and they’re [appreciative] when they get nothing,” he said.

Payinda’s opinion was shared by others who spoke of doctor shortages, procedure delays and a lack of specialists at the April 13 meeting.

Whangārei emergency Dr Gary Payinda. Photo / NZME

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.”

Whangarei Mayor Vince Cocurullo.

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.

Malcolm Mulholland, chairman of Patient Voice Aotearoa. Photo / Mark Mitchell

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.

Health Minister Simeon Brown and Health NZ group director Alex Pimm check out Whangarei Hospital's new transit lounge.

“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.”

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.