“One case that the Health and Disability Commissioner investigated was of a patient, a man in his 70s, who went in for a CT scan,” says Spence. “The scan found a possible malignancy, but the report didn’t make its way back to the doctors who requested it, so that wasn’t picked up for 16 months. And by that time this patient had cancer that was out of control and he died soon after.”
Spence says there’s also evidence that similar issues have occurred in other parts of the country, despite assurances from Te Whatu Ora that these problems are not happening to the same extent elsewhere.
The radiology report arrives when there are ongoing concerns about staffing issues and the levels of burnout across our hospitals. “It’s no secret that we’ve got serious workforce shortages,” says Spence.
“It’s across the health system and it’s happening everywhere in the world. It’s been building for a long time under successive governments. We haven’t trained enough staff domestically.”
Asked whether New Zealand’s hospitals are still safe for patients, Spence says it’s important to remember that most people who visit hospitals receive good treatment.
“The people that I’m talking to are raising serious issues, and they need to be properly explored, and the public need to know about these problems,” Spence explains.
“But that’s not the same as saying that our health system across the board is unsafe. The majority of people that go into hospitals are still going to get good care.”
Te Whatu Ora says it’s short 4800 nurses and 1700 doctors, massive gaps that aren’t easy to fill given the global competition for medical staff.
The healthcare system faces enormous complexity and there simply aren’t any easy fixes on offer. Politicians across the divide have proposed solutions, but these challenges will take time and sustained effort to address.
“Nobody I’ve spoken to in a clinical or official role within the health sector believes that either party, whoever wins the next election, has any magic solutions. This is a problem that is going to take more than the next election cycle to fix.”
So how widespread are these problems? What is the Government saying? And should we expect more revelations from health professionals in the future?
Listen to the full page of The Front Page podcast to hear a full discussion on this complex issue.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. It is presented by Damien Venuto, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in business reporting who joined the Herald in 2017.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
