Wairoa's inability to attract healthcare workers has struck again with the closure of a hospital-level care unit, but the deputy mayor remains hopeful there's light at the end of the tunnel for the small town.
Glengarry Lifecare suspended its hospital level service because of an inability to attract the four to five nurses it needed to keep it running. Photo: Supplied via LDR
In November, rest home Glengarry Lifecare suspended its hospital level service because of an inability to attract the four to five nurses it needed to keep it running.
Four months later, the wing was closed entirely.
It comes on top of the town having lost its last dentist.
The unit closed on 6 March after a nursing shortage - which has been felt nationwide - forced the hand of the owners.
The 15 residents who required re-homing were given a month to find alternative arrangements. Some stayed in Hawke's Bay, others shifted north to Gisborne, one moved to Nelson and another ended up in the local hospital.
The chief executive of owners, Heritage Lifecare, Norah Barlow, said Glengarry had struggled to attract and retain sufficient registered nursing staff for the past two years, despite offering significant incentives to work in the area.
"When the border closures are combined with the requirements to employ hundreds of nurses as vaccinators around New Zealand, and the DHB (district health board has the) ability to pay more for their staff than for those in aged care, it becomes a perfect storm for us in Wairoa," Barlow said in November.
While the closure can be explained, the underlying issue has Wairoa Deputy Mayor Hine Flood scratching her head as to what can be done.
"In places like Wairoa, it's no surprise. We're isolated so it doesn't attract people to come, which is why we need to build our own capabilities," she said.
Hine Flood hopes new health reforms will be positive for small town Wairoa which struggles to attract healthcare workers. Photo: Supplied via LDR
Flood had been at the council since 2013 and said the solution was obvious but difficult to implement: Wairoa needed to attract a workforce keen to run the services so desperately required.
A solution could be "building training programmes that attract and look sexy for our own people, and our own young ones to actually want to go into those career pathways".
In January, a week-long initiative saw 15 dentists from around the country descend on Wairoa to volunteer their time filling the hole left by the departure of the town's last dentist in March 2020.
Reflecting on that, Flood remains optimistic there are professionals out there willing to take up the call.
"There are people who do want to come to communities like this, wanting to give back, wanting to support communities because of the high health needs we are facing.
"But where will they go and live? What are the services we can provide them to incentivise them to choose us for starters?"
Flood said the announcement the ward was closing was not big news in Wairoa because whānau just got on with it and did what they needed to do.
Improving the situation would depend on what new health reforms brought in by the government looked like, she said.
Wairoa is a town of about 4500, located at the northern edge of the Hawke's Bay. Photo: Supplied via LDR
Wairoa has put its name forward to be considered as a prototype "locality" under new government healthcare reforms which promise to elevate Māori voices and improve outcomes.
In Wairoa, where Māori make up 70 percent of the population, Flood thinks the reform is a step in the right direction.
"We have to put things in place that will really change things up, with no barriers as to how much it might cost.
"If it's always about money, we'll never get there."
Heritage Lifecare had been operating hospital-level services in Wairoa since 2017 when it bought the Glengarry care home.
Seven dementia care beds and 10 rest home care beds remained open and staffed.
A spokesperson for Hawke's Bay district health board said it was hopeful the opening of borders would increase the number of nurses available, which would have a flow-on effect to staffing in remote areas like Wairoa.
Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air