Waikato Hospital. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers
A towel shortage at Waikato Hospital has left an elderly patient unable to shower for days, with the family feeling appalled by the lack of basic care.
Maureen Cruickshank, whose mother stayed at the hospital earlier this month, said the wards ran out of towels twice during her stay.
The first was a one-day shortage in mid-December.
But it was the latest three-day shortage in the Older Persons Rehabilitation ward that made her wonder whether something was broken in the system.
"On Friday she messaged me, I can't have a shower today, there's no towels. On Saturday morning, she rang me and said they've told us there's no towels until Monday. Which meant she would've gone Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday without showers."
Cruickshank contacted the hospital and asked if she could bring their own towels for staff to use and received a yes.
"It's definitely not a staff shortage, because they were more than happy to give mum a shower, they just didn't have towels, which is ridiculous."
She said she does not have the professional skills and experience to shower her mother who's only recently out of surgery.
"When a patient has been in hospital for so long, it just feels so good to have a shower. To have the water wash your hair, to actually feel like you are rehabilitating. You're taking one step closer to going home.
"And when they go you've got stay in bed, we'll give you a bed bath, it just doesn't feel human really."
Cruickshank said she only learned about the issue through her elderly mother and is concerned for patients without family nearby.
"How many people aren't in a position to have family bring up towels? And also the hygiene factor, is it bringing in more germs into the hospital people having to bring in their own towels?"
In a statement, Te Whatu Ora Waikato acting group director for operations Rachel Swain said the towel shortage was an isolated event on 27 December and was resolved within 24 hours.
Swain said the shortage only affected the Older Persons and Rehabilitation ward, and the duty nurse manager sourced towels from other areas of the hospital.
"This occurred due to an unforeseen operational issue that resulted in available emergency linen being depleted. Patient care, hygiene, and access to showers were maintained during this time.
"Patients were advised of the situation and at no time were patients or families asked to provide their own towels."
Swain said linen services are provided by a long-standing external supplier, and there have been no formal complaints about the supply in the past 12 months. Waikato Hospital does not consider linen availability to be an ongoing concern.
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