A leaked email from Nelson’s only vascular surgeon shows she’s threatening to quit over staffing concerns, which she’s been raising since 2018.
On Friday, Nelson Hospital manager Lexie O’Shea emailed all staff making them aware of the upcoming stories on 1News.
The vascular surgeon responded: “I feel… our management should bear responsibility for the failures we’re being held accountable for in the media.”
She pointed out she has been asking for more staff to help her since 2018.
“We have particularly poor outcomes regarding major amputations due to delayed treatment.”
She concluded: “If no genuine action is taken… I will have to reconsider my position at Nelson Hospital.”
Health NZ responds
In a statement to 1News, Health NZ said vascular surgery was a “highly specialised workforce”.
“With this in mind, our independent senior doctor, Peter Watson, in collaboration with clinical directors and chief medical officers are looking at how we strike the right balance between local and regional services, to ensure people can access specialist services like this across the South Island.
“Our senior team is now on the ground in Nelson to help guide our decision-making on this and other priorities.”
Patient’s painful wait
More often than not, Sophie Browning was in a lot of pain. She said some days, she found it hard to put her legs forward.
“Every time I’m walking and I put them forward, it causes of a lot of pain and tiredness … I live on painkillers to manage the symptoms, and I have to limit my exercise.”
Browning said her condition was getting worse, and she was waiting for an appointment with Nelson’s sole vascular surgeon.
In the meantime, her doctor diagnosed pelvic congestion syndrome, an issue with veins in the lower abdomen.
“Beyond that, I was start developing things like ulcers, which will be irreversible damage, nerve damage, skin damage.”
‘Every specialty is struggling’
Doctor Ros Pochin started at Nelson Hospital in 2003. She said the hospital had issues with staffing for “many years”, and staff had been calling out those issues for the same amount of time.
“It is, however, at an unprecedented level.”
Pochin said every specialty was struggling, and gave examples of the toll taken on patients in her department.
“Hernias are not being seen in a timely fashion. What that means is, they come in acutely, have acute surgeries which cost more and sometimes even require a bowel section.”
Health Minister looking at ‘range of options’
Health Minister Simeon Brown told 1News a range of options were being looked at, including “making sure there’s the right management and that there’s a real focus on patients and getting through those wait lists”.
In an earlier post on X, the Health Minister said he wanted to ensure the people of Nelson had access to timely and quality healthcare.
“I will be receiving regular updates as this work progresses.”
