Staff in one of Nelson Hospital’s surgical wards say they killed around 30 wasps in one night earlier this week, and it isn’t an uncommon situation.
It’s the latest unwelcome development for the hospital after eight senior doctors spoke out to 1News in recent days about ongoing staffing issues and the impacts they were having on patients.
One nurse who didn’t want to be identified said there had been issues with wasps in wards 9 and 10 — both surgical wards. It had been an issue on and off for years and mainly occurred in the staff areas and patient bathrooms.
“I have personally seen wasps, a lot of them, I’ve heard they’ve been on a patient’s pillow.”
The company that carried out pest control for the hospital said there had been the occasional issue with wasp nests in recent years at the site but said it responded within a day or two of being notified.
A pest controller from the company was at ward 10 today but couldn’t see any wasps, likely because of the rain. They would return next week and said it would likely be a quick fix. The company said wasps have been prevalent this season.
Some staff said wasps were not the top concern. The nurses 1News spoke to said a lack of ventilation was challenging.
“We have insufficient to no air conditioning on our ward. They keep saying they’re going to fix it”.
The nurses said it was common to have sweat running down their faces and backs and that was not ideal for patients who were unwell.
“I feel like patients are at risk… they deserve more,” one nurse said.
The wards in question were at the top of the George Manson block — one found to be in the worst condition of any hospital building in the country.
That part of the hospital, along with others, has been in line for a redevelopment since at least 2017 but the work had repeatedly been delayed.
Nelson resident Katie Prosser was admitted in February to ward 10 with a bowel infection. While she didn’t see any wasps she wasn’t impressed with what she did see.
“Honestly, it does not surprise me, nothing would surprise me. The conditions in that place are terrible… cramped conditions, staff too unavailable, too busy.”
She had a high temperature and said staff struggled to bring that down in the hot conditions.
“At one stage, a nurse came in overnight with a bucket filled with ice and some flannels… and she placed the flannels under each arm, on my forehead, just on my stomach, just trying to bring my temperature down because it was so hot in there.”
Health Minister Simeon Brown said he didn’t know about the wasps and wouldn’t give a timeline for when the Nelson Hospital redevelopment would be signed off by Cabinet.
“A business case has been received by Health New Zealand. We’re working through that process at this stage.”
Hospital facilities and buildings was one of several issues being looked at by as external Health New Zealand team that has been sent to Nelson.
1News has repeatedly asked for interviews this week with the Health NZ team and the health boss for the region Lexie O’Shea.
Health New Zealand’s NZ regional head of infrastructure regional for Te Waipounamu Dr Rob Ojala said there was one notification in the last 18 months of wasps in ward 9 and pest control had been brought in.
“Recent weather conditions have meant a growth in wasp populations around Nelson, and they occasionally enter hospital buildings through open windows.”
Ojala said the heat issues were currently being addressed with portable cooling units. “As these wards do not have ducted ventilation or air conditioning, we rely on portable air conditioning units in each patient area, which are suitably sized for the space.”
He said the priority was to continue to help support the care of patients. “In order to achieve this, the occupancy of these wards remains high, and this limits the opportunities to upgrade the amenities.”
