‘Urgent’ review into Gisborne Hospital CCTV network failure

John Swiatczak, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Tairawhiti's group director of operations, confirmed all 36 hospital CCTV cameras had not been recording since June 2024.

An “urgent” review is under way at Gisborne Hospital to establish why the failure of its entire CCTV network was not addressed sooner.

John Swiatczak, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Tairawhiti’s group director of operations (GDO), confirmed all 36 hospital CCTV cameras had not been recording since June 2024.

Hospital records revealed there had been technical issues with the entire CCTV network since August 2023, which meant the cameras had been operating intermittently.

“We acknowledge that CCTV is an important tool to ensure patient and staff safety,” Swiatczak said.

“There is an urgent review under way to establish why this wasn’t addressed sooner.”

Swiatczak, appointed to the GDO role in May this year, only became aware of the issue after the hospital received a complaint about a staff member allegedly swearing at a woman and refusing to get help while her relative suffered a stroke last month.

The complainant, Hariata Sadlier, requested CCTV footage from the camera situated outside the emergency department around the time of the alleged incident and was told the camera was not working.

GDO John Swiatczak became aware of the issue after the hospital received a complaint about a staff member allegedly swearing at a woman and refusing to get help while her relative suffered a stroke last month.

“I became aware of the issue following Ms Sadlier’s request to view the CCTV footage, and I am grateful to her for highlighting the issue,” Swiatczak said.

The hospital was in the process of upgrading its CCTV system this week, with the upgrade due to be completed by mid-week, he said.

In 2022, Gisborne Hospital’s CCTV caught the moment a person punched a hospital worker in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Police attended at the time and arrested a 28-year-old man, who was charged with assault.

Senior doctors last year called for 24/7 security in every emergency department in New Zealand after an increase in abuse and assaults against medical staff.

The group making the call, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, cited the 2022 Gisborne Hospital assault in its statement.

A staff member in Gisborne Hospital’s mental health ward was severely assaulted by a patient in 2020, prompting a review that found violence on the ward may be regularly going unreported.

James Pocock joined the Gisborne Herald as chief reporter in 2024 after covering environmental, local government and post-cyclone issues in Hawke’s Bay. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives near Gisborne. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz.