Delays to cancer treatment at Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital are "unacceptable", Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson says, following the Health Minister's confirmation that some treatments had been postponed by up to seven days.
Health Minister Simeon Brown confirmed on Thursday that a shortage of nurses had forced the hospital's paediatric haematology and oncology service to reschedule treatment. He said he had asked the Health New Zealand chief executive for an explanation.
"Some of these roles need to be filled with nurses who have very specialist skills. They have been actively recruited to. All of those roles are either now filled or will be filled very soon," Brown told reporters.
"And if you look at that data, there's been a dramatic reduction in the number of shifts which are below target."
Brown acknowledged the toll of the delays: "The maximum delay has been seven days for someone requiring their chemotherapy treatment. Now, of course, any delay is unacceptable for any patient. But I'm also the first to acknowledge that our health system has significant" pressures, he said, before trailing off in comments reported by RNZ.
Health New Zealand's Starship Hospital director, Dr Greg Williams, said the paediatric haematology and oncology service had had to reschedule some treatments due to a shortage of nurses. RNZ reports the nurses involved describe the situation as the worst staffing shortage they have seen.