The Buller health centre Te Rau Kawakawa, which opened in Westport in May 2023. The new building replaced the former Buller Hospital and is intended to enable the expansion of the range of primary care services across the wider Buller District. Photo: Supplied
By Lee Scanlon of the Westport News
A former Buller man is using his national profile as a patient advocate to seek government action over Westport's beleaguered acute stabilisation unit (hospital).
Patient Voice Aotearoa chair, Dr Malcolm Mulholland, has launched a petition asking the Government to urgently fix the staffing shortages at Te Rau Kawakawa/Buller Hospital.
The petition reads: "That the House of Representatives urgently address the issues surrounding the unsatisfactory delivery of health services to the community of Buller by Health New Zealand West Coast due to an insufficient workforce."
Mulholland said his particular concern was the death of a Filipino man in his 40s last month.
The man was taken to the hospital on Wednesday 17 July, after the hospital had been closed the previous two nights. Earlier that day the man had presented to the hospital and been discharged.
At 6pm firefighters and Hato Hone St John were called to a "medical event" at the hospital where it is understood the man died.
Health NZ West Coast has confirmed it has launched a Serious Incident Review Committee investigation into the death. It has refused to answer questions from The Westport News including why Hato Hone St John and firefighters were called and whether a doctor was available. It would say only that the hospital was staffed and operating as normal.
Mulholland, whose family comes from Seddonville, said Health NZ West Coast urgently needed to do something before patients died because rural hospitals were understaffed.
"I hope that the Health Select Committee undertake an urgent investigation into the staffing operations of Te Rau Kawakawa, otherwise known by locals as Buller Hospital. The community of Buller deserve straight answers about what is happening at their hospital, including what happened on the night of July 17.
"The circumstances that led to this man's death need to be fully understood. The community is deeply troubled by this situation."
Mulholland said the Buller community, like other New Zealanders, should have faith and confidence that their local emergency health service would help them in their time of need. "The people of Buller pay taxes, and they shouldn't miss out simply because they live miles away from one of New Zealand's major cities. Health services in New Zealand is a right, not something you might receive depending on where you live."
The hospital has been closed 11 times, for a total of 25.5 days and 29 nights, since Westport's $21 million health centre opened in May last year. Mulholland said that was not acceptable.
"It is obvious that emergency health services are unable to be offered 24/7 in Buller due to staffing shortages…
"The community need to be fully informed as to the state of Buller Hospital, what the plan is to get enough nurses and doctors to staff the facility, and how long it will take for those staff to arrive in Westport. Only then, with all the information, can the people of Buller make an informed decision about local health services and what they should expect if they knock on the door of their hospital."
He said he was not criticising hospital staff, who were doing their best with limited resources.
"This is about recognising a system failure and how to overcome those failures in the future.
"I hope that the Health Select Committee might be able to provide some insight and clarity moving forward, rather than the folk of Buller continuing to have no confidence in their local hospital. It could be that by focusing specifically on Buller Hospital, understandings and solutions can be found for other rural hospitals in New Zealand."