Dargaville Hospital runs without an on-site doctor for most overnight shifts and some day shifts.
Under-pressure nurses working without an overnight doctor at Dargaville Hospital are taking an hour of strike action to demonstrate their frustrations.
Since July, the rural hospital has been using nurses and a telehealth service for most overnight shifts, with any critically ill patients being transferred to Whangārei Hospital.
The nurses say they are working in fear during these shifts, with some day shifts also running without doctors on-site.
Members of NZ Nurses’ Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) will be striking for one hour on August 29 to voice their frustrations with the arrangement.
Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora said contingency planning is in place to ensure safe and appropriate care for patients during the one-hour strike, and the hospital will remain open and take new admissions.
The wellbeing of staff is also important and recruitment to cover vacancies is ongoing, the organisation said.
NZNO delegate and Dargaville Hospital registered nurse Shayna Mariscal said nurses are extremely worried about community and staff safety.
“We’re quite stressed about having no doctors because of not knowing [who will walk] through the door, and managing that without a doctor on-site is terrifying.”
Mariscal said there could be anything from no patients to 20 patients presenting at Dargaville Hospital overnight and their statuses can vary greatly.
She did not want to go into details about what nurses have experienced during shifts with no doctors on-site but said they are under tremendous pressure.
“We really need doctors on-site rather than a telehealth service. You can only do so much as a nurse, and while we are grateful to have help, it’s not the same as having a hands-on doctor to actually do a physical assessment.”
Mariscal said any extra training or support to help nurses better deal with the situation would be beneficial.
“The only real solution regarding extra training would be to do the nurse practitioner pathway, but that is a long-term solution, not short-term,” she said.
She acknowledged hiring permanent staff in a rural hospital like Dargaville is difficult but said the doctor shortage is related to management’s unwillingness to pay locum doctors a worthwhile rate.
“We relied heavily on locums to fill in our gaps, especially on sick leave and holidays, but now the locums aren’t getting paid that same rate, they’re not willing to pay up for the shifts.
“But how can you think about cutting costs when lives are at risk?”
Alex Pimm, Health NZ group director of operations for Te Tai Tokorau, acknowledged the staffing has been “very challenging”, especially with the past few months being impacted by increased winter demand, vacancies and staff sick leave.
“We are grateful for the amazing work done by our great team across Te Tai Tokerau, including at Dargaville Hospital, who remain focused on looking after our patients, providing high-quality care.
“The wellbeing of our staff is very important to us and we have been working with our teams to manage many challenges.”
Pimm said recruitment is a well-documented challenge in the health sector, particularly in rural areas like Northland, where locum or temporary doctors are often used to cover gaps.
The preference is for permanent staff over locums, but recruitment has not happened as quickly as Health NZ would like, he said.
Two-thirds of the budgeted fulltime equivalent senior doctor roles in Northland have been filled or are contracted, with recruitment continuing to fill the remaining one-third, Pimm said.
On top of recruitment, rosters are reviewed to maximise cover each day, with Dargaville, Whangārei, Bay of Islands and Kaitāia Hospitals working closely together to share capacity where appropriate, he said.
“We value the enormous contribution nurses make to our hospitals and thank them for the critical role they have in caring for the health needs of our whānau and communities.
“We know our workforce is under pressure and addressing this across the health sector is a top priority for us. In particular, work is under way locally to help address concerns raised by Dargaville NZNO regarding better patient care.”
Pimm reminds patients needing non-emergency healthcare to phone Healthline on 0800 611 116, or rural patients can call Ka Ora on 0800 252 672 from 5pm to 8pm on weekdays, and 24 hours a day on weekends and public holidays.
In an emergency, call 111, he said.
The strike is to take place at Dargaville Hospital on Thursday, August 29 from 1pm to 2pm.
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years’ experience in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.