organisation

Health New Zealand

New Zealand's national healthcare authority

Health & Medicine · 19 Oct 2026Blenheim emergency doctors warn patients 'in danger' as Wairau Hospital ED faces chronic understaffing

Emergency doctors at Blenheim's Wairau Hospital say chronic understaffing is putting patients at risk, with the department at least three doctors short and staff sometimes working up to 17-hour shifts. Health New Zealand rejects claims the ED is on the brink of collapse but says it is recruiting permanent staff.