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August 29, 2022
Lights out at Rawene as doc shortage hits
Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira
Posted On August 29, 2022
Download AudioRawene Hospital has suspended its after-hours care service because it doesn’t have enough doctors to fill shifts.
From today, there will be no doctor on site from 5 pm to 8 am.
There will also be some minor disruption to the 10 community health clinics, but they will stay open.
Hokianga Health Trust chief executive Margaretha Broodkoorn says the service has struggled for years to find doctors willing to move to Taitokerau, and the pandemic made the shortage worse.
Some new staff are due in November.
September and October are our real acute months or the significant months we’re looking to recruit and temporarily we are unable to provide those services after hours,” she says.
Magaretha Broodkoorn says there have been inquiries from doctors because of the national attention the hospital’s plight has been given, and the trust is also working closely with St Johns and neighbouring hospitals in Kawakawa and Kaitaia to get more medical staff into the region.
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