‘We’ve lost our hospital’: Outrage over Health NZ changes in Northland
Kaipara residents and healthcare professionals are alarmed over Dargaville Hospital changes, which they describe as replacing the hospital with user-pays healthcare.
But Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora denied the changes replaced the hospital, saying a new acute and urgent care service was an extra for the region.
Dargaville Hospital will be known as Dargaville Health Hub, with the new acute and urgent care service operating 8am to 8.30pm, seven days a week, starting this week.
The changes follow the hospital’s struggle to recruit doctors for its overnight shift since 2024. Nurses have managed overnight patients with use of electronic consultations, and transferring high-needs patients 55km to Whangārei Hospital.
No new doctors have been recruited for the new service, which uses existing doctors and other clinicians from Dargaville Medical Centre.
A nurse has been reallocated from Dargaville Hospital’s triage service to the facility, and no inpatient admissions will be allowed in the hospital after 8.30pm.
The service will be user-pays, costing up to $36 for enrolled adults and $100 for unenrolled adults, but will be free for children under 14, with subsidies for Community Services Card holders.
Gordon Walker, interim chairman of the Dargaville Ratepayers Association, believed people should be up in arms about rural hospitals being replaced with “expensive, unaffordable health hubs”.
“What you’ve got to realise is that we have lost our hospital; it’s gone now and it’s been replaced by a user-pays health hub.
“This means that if you want free hospital care, you’ll have to drive at least 45 minutes to Whangārei or call an ambulance, of which there is only one servicing our area, so good luck with that,” Walker said.
“Prior to this decision, we had a hospital, now it’s gone and we are now faced with expensive, privatised healthcare options instead.”
A NZ Nurses Union (NZNO) spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, said the $100 fee was unaffordable for the rural Kaipara community and would cause greater health inequities.
“There is a high need for services to be after-hours but without the cost ... A lot of people can’t [even] afford the standard GP fee.”
The new service was also poorly set up, with no new doctors employed and no after-hours radiology, the NZNO spokeswoman said.
Changing the hospital’s name felt underhand and cynical, she said.
“Why is it a health hub and not a hospital? What does that mean?”
Consultation shocking, ASMS says
The changes were poorly consulted, according to Sarah Thompson, industrial officer for doctors’ union Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS).
The union did not know the proposed changes were confirmed until it saw Health NZ’s press release on Tuesday, nor was the public consulted on the lack of hospital admissions after 8.30pm, she said.
“The changes to the overnight service will be a decrease for the community, with patients arriving after 8.30pm referred to a QR code or phone, or referred to Whangārei.
“Patients in the in-patient unit who are stable will stay in Dargaville overnight but those unstable will need to transfer to Whangārei,” Thompson said.
“These people need to be able to have a hospital that they can go to when they need care, not a QR code or phone at the door.”
Clinicians were worried how the new service will run between the privately owned Dargaville Medical Centre and Health NZ – both philosophically and physically.
Meeting Dargaville’s need, Health NZ says
Health NZ denied the 24/7 hospital was being replaced with user-pays healthcare.
Until now, urgent care services through Dargaville Medical Centre were available until 5pm, with the new integrated service extending this to 8.30pm and no changes to the 24/7 inpatient service.
Alex Pimm, Health NZ group director of operations for Te Tai Tokerau, said the changes were designed to better meet the needs of the Dargaville community, reducing the need to travel to Whangārei for care.
The new Dargaville acute care service will be jointly provided by the on-site primary care provider, Dargaville Medical Centre, and Health NZ, he confirmed.
The service will be staffed by doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, with rosters adjusted to “safely cover the new service and existing inpatient ward”, Pimm said.
“We are continuing to recruit specialists and nurses to strengthen the local team.”
While recruitment was underway, telehealth played an important role, while anyone requiring hospital-level or complex care that cannot be provided in Dargaville will be transferred to Whangārei, Pimm said.
Health NZ was working to further expand the services, such as extending X-ray operating hours over the coming months, he said.
After 8.30pm, care would be provided by the Ka Ora rural telehealth service, Hato Hone St John and Whangārei Hospital’s Emergency Department, Pimm said.
Pimm said oncology and chemotherapy services recently launched in Dargaville, currently operating one day a week, providing local care for around 72 patients each year.
“All services continue to be staffed safely to meet the needs of the community. We greatly appreciate the commitment of our Dargaville team to consistently providing a high level of care for people in Kaipara.”
The name change reflected the wide range of services now delivered on site, including the Dargaville Inpatient Unit, Timatanga Hou Detoxification Unit, Dargaville Medical Centre, Te Ha Oranga O Ngāti Whātua iwi health provider, Kaipara Hospice and Health NZ community teams, he said.
Better access close to home, Brown says
Health Minister Simeon Brown said the changes meant Dargaville residents had better access to healthcare close to home and were part of a national framework for urgent and after-hours care.
“Until now, many people needing urgent care outside normal business hours have faced a long drive to access treatment.
“Now, more people will receive timely care in their own community, making it easier for families to get the treatment they need and reducing pressure on our emergency departments.
“Patients will be able to be assessed and treated for a wide range of conditions, including abdominal pain, back pain, minor head injuries, minor burns, chest infections, asthma attacks, eye and ear infections, fractures, and sprains and strains.”
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.