Nursing union calls for staffing transparency on night of ED death

Saturday, 11 July 2026

A more comprehensive Serious Adverse Event Review into the death at Waikato Hospital Emergency Department is expected to be completed in August.

The health system must disclose whether the Waikato Emergency Department was short-staffed at the time of a tragic patient death, the nursing union says.

This follows the completion of a rapid review, which did not find that additional monitoring would have changed the outcome for the patient. The man, believed to be in his 50s, died in an ED toilet after a wait of about nine hours.

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) would not say if any staffing issues had been identified in the review, and did not share the review document or its details, citing a request for privacy by the patient's family.

The indicative footprint of the ED support ward at Waikato hospital (in red) is to the right of the existing helipad.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation chief executive Paul Goulter said the union respected the request, but wanted to know how many people had been working at the time of the death early last Tuesday morning.

'What is missing from the rapid review summary is whether the ED was short-staffed at the time.

'[HNZ] says it will implement national guidelines for the monitoring and assessment of ED patients who are waiting for their initial medical assessment. Would this man have had his initial medical assessment sooner if there were more staff working at the time?

A review of a patient death at the Waikato Hospital Emergency Department concluded the death was an 'acute unexpected incident'

'New Zealanders need to know their local EDs have enough staff to provide the health care they need, when they need it.'

The death of the man was a tragedy that had reduced public confidence in the health system, and the union was also calling for an independent inquiry, Goulter said.

HNZ clinical executive national director Dr Richard Sullivan said the review concluded the death was an 'acute unexpected incident'.

Despite its findings, national guidelines would be introduced for patients waiting for their initial assessment in ED, to ensure people whose condition was worsening were escalated as needed. These would be in place within two months.

'Monitoring of waiting rooms is normal practice in our EDs and was being carried on the day this patient was in ED. The national guidelines will standardise the frequency and nature of that monitoring.'

Signs would also be checked to ensure patients had clear advice about what to do if their condition changed while waiting.

While Sullivan did not comment on whether staffing and capacity issues were identified in the review — a question also put to HNZ by the Waikato Times — he did comment on these issues more generally.

Waikato Hospital, like many hospitals, had experienced higher demand over winter, he said.

Recent ED wait times had been affected by seasonal pressures, the temporary closure of two wards to new admissions because of an outbreak of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), which disrupted patient flow, and unplanned absences of frontline nurses and doctors due to illness.

Waikato Hospital has experienced higher demand over winter

'Our Winter Preparedness Plan is in place to help hospitals manage these seasonal pressures,' he said.

The rapid review is separate from a more comprehensive Serious Adverse Event Review, which is expected to be completed in August.

HNZ said last week there were 148.9 FTE nurses employed in the Waikato Hospital ED, 7.9 fewer than budgeted, and it is 'actively recruiting'.

However, the NZNO has been vocal about what it says is an ED staffing shortage, with a representative last week saying the full budgeted staffing level would still not be enough to meet demand, and that the department actually needed another 13 nurses.

Other issues flagged by the union include ward capacity, as well as the placement of a much-needed ED support ward.

It was supposed to be operational in the second half of 2026, but there is still no sign of the 28-bed prefabricated support unit onsite. After doubts and delays, HNZ confirmed it would go ahead and would be completed at some point next year.

A stumbling block had been the location of the initial ward on what was 'quite a tight site', Health Minister Simeon Brown told Parliament last week.

'I'm advised the site selection has been an issue which has had to be worked through due to it being quite close to the helipad, and of course there being some potential noise issues.'

The NZNO warned the site initially selected could impact parking and helicopter access, but did not seem reassured when HNZ revealed the new location chosen for the ward.

NZNO strategic researcher Nathalie Jacques listed several of the union's concerns.

The main problem was 'geographical isolation', as the new location, further from the ED, posed risks in an emergency or if a patient's condition was deteriorating.

'It is particularly far from coronary care, theatre and imaging such as CT, MRI,[and] Echo.'

The union was also concerned the beds might not be used for their intended purpose as short-stay assessment beds, and might not come with a funded staffing boost.

'Waikato Hospital needs genuine infrastructure and funding solutions to bed block. One thing to consider for a longer-term capacity solution is the Smith block that was demolished in 2013 – this was a seven-storey building that housed 196 in-patient beds. The site remains empty.'