Quitting emergency care factor in trust woes: health boss

Hokianga Health Enterprise Trust chief executive John Wigglesworth. PHOTO / FILE

A decision to quit acute hospital care is one of the factors behind the troubles at Whangaroa Health Services Trust, the head of another Northland health trust believes.

Whangaroa Health has lost several nurses and three doctors in the past three months — including Alison McAlwee, who has worked as a GP in Kaeo for the past 35 years — and last weekend its chief executive and chairwoman also resigned.

At a public meeting at the end of May, as the crisis was escalating, concerns were raised about alleged staff bullying, long waiting times to see a doctor and financial strains caused by the loss of health board funding.

Whangaroa Health has much in common with the Hokianga Health Enterprise Trust — both are non-profit trusts which provide free primary health care in high-needs areas — but Whangaroa Health is in crisis while Hokianga Health is partway through a $2 million upgrade of its hospital at Rawene. Why the difference?

Hokianga Health chief executive John Wigglesworth said the two organisations had a close connection and operated similar models of heath care.

''But we've never had a disconnect between the community and the trust, or the executive and the trust.''

Wigglesworth believed Whangaroa's current difficulties stemmed from a decision to stop offering acute hospital services in Kaeo around 2013 because it had become too difficult to maintain a 24-hour roster with three doctors, in particular when locums (short-term GPs) were involved.

However, by ending its emergency medical services the trust lost funding from the district health board, causing financial strain.

''In Hokianga we rely on the fact that we provide an acute hospital service and elderly care. That means we can share resources between different services,'' he said.

Hokianga also had the advantage of scale with about 6500 patients compared to Whangaroa's 3000.

The real concern now was how primary health services and elderly care could be sustained in the area.

Asked if his organisation could take over Whangaroa's health services, Wigglesworth said: ''Probably not''.

He was interested, however, to find out how Hokianga Health could help its Whangaroa counterpart.