Hawke's Bay Hospital is working on a solution to a temporary waiting area for cancer patients in Villa 6. Photo / NZME
Hawke's Bay Hospital is working on a solution to a temporary waiting area for cancer patients in Villa 6. Photo / NZME
Hawke's Bay's health authority says it's working on a solution to a temporary waiting area for cancer patients, despite criticism from a former district health board member who claims the hospital's "makeshift shelter" isn't acceptable.
MP for Tukituki Anna Lorck said she was aware of the problem at Villa 6because patients had asked her to help sort it out.
"I've been in contact with the hospital management seeking urgent action and they've assured me they are working on finding a better solution. This needs to be fixed urgently," Lorck said.
She believes elderly and immune compromised patients are being told to wait, "in some cases up to over an hour, under a makeshift shelter in the bitter cold with the rain and wind getting through during the middle of winter".
The former board member said she understood the hospital was under significant pressure. "We're having one of the worst winters in history for sickness and I appreciate the huge effort our health workforce is putting in to do their very best in caring for patients.
"But I do not accept that there is not a single indoor space on the hospital grounds that couldn't be used instead of making patients wait outside without adequate shelter and warmth."
Chris Ash, chief operating officer for Te Whatu Ora - Te Matau a Māui Hawke's Bay, said Villa 6 has had a temporary area in place since February for oncology patients who are waiting for RAT results to be processed.
"The closed-in porch area was implemented to give a separate waiting zone due to space constraints inside the building. Radiant heaters have been installed to alleviate the cooler weather," Ash said.
He said staff were determined to improve the situation and are committed to building a permanent structure as a separate waiting area as soon as building resources and materials could be confirmed.
"In the meantime, patients and support people are being asked to RAT at home prior to arriving for their appointment to keep the number of people needing to wait outside to a minimum.
"Staff make every effort to avoid people having to wait outside, and improvements to patient flow to minimise wait times are constantly being explored. To alleviate space pressure on Villa 6 the phlebotomy clinic has been moved to Villa 8.
"Te Whatu Ora Te Matau a Māui, Hawke's Bay is undertaking work to determine the changes that will need to be made to our buildings and facilities until the time of the hospital redevelopment. The work aims to prioritise the projects that address our most significant challenges, produce the biggest safety gains for patients and staff and balance the cost of solutions against the number of years over which they will endure."
* In an earlier version of this story Hawke's Bay Today wrongly claimed Ms Lorck had criticised the Emergency Department's waiting area - when in fact she was referring to the Villa 6 waiting shelter. We regret the error.