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March 09, 2023
Hospitals shuffle staff as demand spikes
Peter Verschaffelt
Posted On March 9, 2023
Download AudioTe Whatu Ora Counties Manukau chief medical officer Andrew Connolly says the health reforms are allowing hospitals in the Auckland region to cope with staff shortages and a spike in demand.
This week anesthetic technicians from Waitakere Hospital were sent to Middlemore to allow operations to go ahead.
Hospitals are also using the internet to share and assess x-ray scans when specialists are not available locally.
Dr Connolly says under the new structure more Maori are being employed in the region, which has some of the highest health inequities in Aotearoa, especially in Maori and Pacific communities.
“We’re working with mana whenua, every significant decision goes past our Maori advisors and we need their input – a tick of approval is essential, otherwise we’re not co-designing. So there’s a lot going on but there remains a lot to do – we’re certainly still under the pump,” he says.
Dr Connolly says this week’s staff sharing was on a one-off basis, but there will be discussions about formalising such sharing arrangements.
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