Delayed care, distressed staff

Delayed care, distressed and overworked staff, and women discharging themselves from hospital after waiting hours for medical clearance.

These are some of the issues linked to staffing shortages in the maternity ward and birthing suite at Christchurch Women’s Hospital, documents released to The Press under the Official Information Act show.

The Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) says the shortages that caused the issues were due to sickness.

Between November 2017 and June 2019, CDHB employees across the two units flagged concerns about staffing between three and six times a month.

Incidents recorded over the period include the maternity ward operating in a state of gridlock, delays in care of up to two hours, staff missing or having late meal breaks, and an incident where a pool nurse with no experience on the maternity ward was given a caseload for a night shift.

In September last year, a team leader in one of the two areas reported: ‘‘Busyness of the ward makes it almost impossible to give the care needed and people are being missed.’’

At the time the OIA was sent, there were 16 fulltime equivalent vacancies, but CDHB midwifery director Norma Campbell said that number had fallen to 11.

Campbell said the reason the number of vacancies looked high was because there had been an increase in authorised staffing levels over the past year to address known shortage areas.

‘‘In fact our actual staffing level has increased during the past year.

‘‘The process of recruiting to this increased staffing level is ongoing and going well.’’

Seven graduate midwives were due to start in January.

Campbell said the staff shortages that caused the incidents detailed in documents Birthing suite and maternity ward staff at Christchurch Women’s Hospital have been flagging concerns about staffing shortages. provided to The Press were all due to staff being off work sick.

The CDHB reviewed all cases where delays in care may have been caused by staffing.

Women most often experienced delays because their case was not acute, Campbell said.

She acknowledged this could be difficult, but said when it did happen staff worked hard to ensure women and their families Caroline Conroy, Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service co-leader (midwifery)

understood why their care might be delayed.

The CDHB was making changes, including the recent opening of a maternity assessment unit, to ensure women had access to the right kind of care in the right place, Campbell said.

Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service co-leader (midwifery) Caroline Conroy said midwives were doing tasks that could be done by other people and the union was working with the CDHB to try to get additional support.

‘‘When you’ve got staffing shortages it does put you under huge pressure,’’ she said.

‘‘The midwives have to be commended really for working in that staffing environment and working as hard as they possibly can to ensure that women and babies continue to receive quality care.’’

‘‘When you’ve got staffing shortages it does put you under huge pressure.’’