1 November 2013:

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) believes there is no good reason for Waitemata DHB (WDHB) to move Waitakere Hospital’s Coronary Care Unit to North Shore Hospital.

NZNO organiser Adam Craigie says, “All Auckland patients should be able to access to an appropriately-staffed purpose built cardiac care unit, with high standards of nursing care and support. When the doors at Waitakere Coronary Care Unit close, a large section of the Auckland population will find it much harder to access the specialised coronary care they need, when and where they need it.”

“Although the proposal to close the Coronary Care Unit at Waitakere Hospital is being done under the guise of best evidence and improved service delivery, moving vital health services to the North Shore undermines access to healthcare for Waitakere residents, a community of 275,000 plus people.” 

“Even though the DHB is working towards redeploying staff to other areas and offering redundancy to others, residents in West Auckland will bear the brunt of the loss of their dedicated Coronary Care Unit. Saying they will integrate cardiology patients into a general medical ward goes nowhere near mitigating the loss of a specialised staff and a dedicated unit,’ Craigie says.

“The proposed changes to cardiology services will have a large impact on Waitakere Hospital emergency department and medical emergency response and should not be underestimated.”

“West Aucklanders are not second class citizens and should not have to put up with second rate health services. NZNO will continue to support the community in their fight to keep vital health services in the west.”