Mass resignations blamed on ‘new approach’

Financial pressure and a desire to have the Waiwhetu Medical Centre aligned more closely with the local marae appear to be behind a mass resignation of staff.

Fifteen staff from the Lower Hutt medical centre have quit, with patients receiving letters informing them ‘‘the majority of the doctors and nurses’’ left on January 15.

Marina Pumphrey said the sudden announcement left her and her husband, both Waiwhetu patients, high and dry. ‘‘The responsibility of the medical clinic is to look after its patients. I believe medical ethics comes in here.’’

She would have liked the opportunity to make the decision to follow her doctor or to stay at the practice before the staff left. ‘‘You spend years building a rapport with your doctor. We should have been given the chance to consult with our doctor, so we could make decisions on what we were going to do,’’ Pumphrey said.

The exodus of clinical staff follows the resignation of the centre’s directors in November last year.

In December, Te Ru¯ nanganui o Te Ati ¯ Awa announced that chief executive Wirangi Luke had been appointed as the centre’s sole director. Luke said the medical centre had run as a separate business for the past 12 years but late last year it became clear it had financial issues and the ru¯ nanga, aligned with Waiwhetu Marae, had to take control.

The centre had entered into an agreement to form a partnership with Wha¯ nau Ora Community Clinics to provide medical services. It was hoped the partnership would be in place by the beginning of April.

As well as financial issues, the ru¯ nanga was keen to see the centre more closely aligned with kaupapa Ma¯ ori values and provide a ‘‘wraparound’’ service for its 4500 patients.

Luke was surprised by the resignations, which he believed were driven by staff who were unhappy with the new approach.

The centre is still open and staff from a Wha¯nau Ora Community Clinic in Auckland are currently helping out.

During the Covid lockdown Te Ru¯ nanganui o Te A¯ ti Awa provided a range of social services to local families, including helping them with food.

Luke said it became clear the medical centre had to provide a service ‘‘beyond just providing scripts to patients’’ and it made sense to have it more closely controlled by Te Ru¯ nanganui o Te A¯ ti Awa. Luke was confident the reorganisation would result in an improved service to patients and said the current recruitment process was going well.

Dr Musab Hassan was among the staff who left. He declined to comment. Another doctor who is now at another practice in Lower Hutt did not respond to a request for comment.

Waiwhetu Medical Centre is contracted by Te Awakairangi Health, a Hutt Valley primary health organisation (PHO), to deliver primary health services.

The PHO’s chief executive, Bridget Allan, said the centre had kept Te Awakairangi informed. Waiwhetu was managing the acute needs of its patients and people enrolled there should continue to contact the practice for care.

Rachel Haggerty, the Hutt Valley District Health Board’s strategy, planning and performance director, said the DHB had been assured services were available to meet the needs of the centre’s enrolled population. The DHB would work with the PHO and ru¯ nanga to ensure services could continue.

The medical centre had to provide a service ‘‘beyond just providing scripts to patients’’. Wirangi Luke Te Ru¯nanganui o Te A¯ti Awa