Te Whatu Ora must reassure Wellingtonians it is adopting recommendations made by the Health and Disability Commissioner after a damning report was released today, NZNO says.
The report followed a complaint to the Commissioner by a 55-year-old man who went to Wellington Regional Hospital in August 2023 with chest pain. Despite being given a triage score of 3 which required him to be seen by a doctor within 30 minutes, he was not seen for four-and-a-half hours.
The HDC found the hospital emergency department (ED) was at 200% occupancy at the time and had a shortfall of 10 nurses.
NZNO College for Emergency Nurses co-chair Natasha Hemopo says in the past two years, Wellington ED has faced ongoing critical care deficits - when the staffing levels don’t meet patient demand.
"Occupancy has not improved; it has increased to 240%. Critical care and significant care deficit hours at Wellington ED are now at 72%, meaning the vast majority of patients are not receiving the interventions or monitoring they need.
"The HDC also found a significant nursing FTE shortfall. Despite identifying the need for 63.7 additional FTE, this fell only to 62 in 2024, to 56 in May 2025 and was at 41 FTE in May 2026.
"A 20% vacancy rate in ED is not sustainable and is not good for patient outcomes. More staff must be hired for the department," Natasha Hemopo says.
The Commissioner said Te Whatu Ora has met with the man involved who was pleased with changes being made but wanted assurance recommendations are being adopted.
Natasha Hemopo says the College welcomes the Commissioner’s ongoing oversight - including on whether current staffing levels are acceptable - and that Te Whatu Ora was now sending nurses on its National Emergency Nurses Triage Course.