Wairarapa nurses say DHB failed to act on unsafe staff levels after concerns raised

Wairarapa nurses say the DHB has failed to act on unsafe staff levels, and misled the public with unrealistic wait times.

It comes after a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) was issued on February 17, tabling their concerns of serious health and safety failings, including staffing.

Wairarapa DHB says it is working with the New Zealand Nurse Organisation to resolve the issues, but NZNO says it has been disappointed by the DHB's response.

"While there's no immediate fix to the staffing crisis, it has taken the DHB two weeks to even acknowledge the PIN," says NZNO delegate and Emergency Department Nurse Practitioner Lucy McLaren.

"We're feeling completely demoralised because on the one hand the DHB is far overstating our capacity, and on the other hand, they're not listening to us when we point out the issues.

"We need the DHB to apologise and issue realistic advice on what people can expect at the hospital. It then needs to be accountable for these chronic issues, and work with us rather than against us, to solve them."

A Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) is a written notice issued to a person or organisation asking them to address a health and safety concern in the workplace.

Wairarapa DHB chief executive Dale Oliff said the PIN issued on February 17 raised issues of staffing levels, storage and patient flow from secondary to tertiary care.

It had also raised concerns around building work being done to keep isolating patients safe, and the supervision and support provided for staff on the floor.

Oliff said the DHB and NZNO Emergency Department staff were working to resolve the issues identified.

"Over the past three weeks our messaging with respect to ED has been consistent, written with the objective of managing patient expectations and taking pressure off all ED staff," she said.

"The Wairarapa DHB is also actively working hard to address the concerns around staff recruitment."

She said the recruitment of new staff was a challenge being faced by DHBs and other organisations around the country.

Wairarapa nurses say their concerns of safe staffing have not been addressed. Photo / 123rf

PINs have been issued in multiple parts of the country over the past year – including in Wellington's emergency department last Winter.

Unsafe staffing levels is also a key issue that drove nurses to strike action last year.

McLaren also disputed Oliff's claim in the Wairarapa Times-Age, in which she said wait times usually varied from 10 minutes to two hours.

McLaren said this was an "ideal" estimate, based on fully staffed wards operating outside a pandemic.

"Wairarapa DHB has been understaffed for 18 months and is in an even more critical situation now that nurses are isolating and even more are resigning.

"Just this Monday, non-urgent patients who should supposedly wait up to two hours were waiting more than eight hours to be seen.

"Staff are horrified this pressure has been placed on them because it creates tensions that we bear the brunt of."