Source: PSA
No-one should be waiting nine hours or even longer at any Emergency Department in this country, the PSA says in the wake of reports of a person dying at Waikato Hospital.
The patient died in the Emergency Department there according to reports that said they had been waiting for nine hours.
The PSA represents allied and mental healthcare professionals who work in Emergency Departments.
“What happened at Waikato Hospital is a tragedy, and one that should never have happened in a wealthy country like New Zealand,” Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi National Secretary, Fleur Fitzsimons, said.
“It is a damning snapshot of what Aotearoa’s health system looks like under this government – chronically under-funded, under-staffed, and completely overloaded.
“It’s fair to say that our health system is reaching breaking point.
“Our members who work in EDs say that they’ve been under pressure for months, and now that winter flu season has hit, they’re run off their feet.
“Just yesterday, we had reports that whānau at the Waikato Hospital ED waited for ten hours to be seen, with some being told to expect a 14-hour wait.
“The state of our public healthcare system is unacceptable and is the result of the choices the Government made to give tax breaks to landlords and big tobacco rather than properly fund the health services New Zealanders need.
“Our thoughts are with the whānau affected by this death, and I hope Minister Simeon Brown is thinking very carefully himself about how his government can look to stop tragedies like these happening in future.
“Our message to New Zealanders come the election is simple, vote to change the Government for one that properly funds health.”
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.