It’s been revealed the Health Minister ignored warnings from a DHB boss that aged care facilities will be forced to close unless urgent action is taken to address nursing shortages, National’s Health Spokesperson Dr Shane Reti says.

“Southern DHB Chief Executive and Acting Lead for Health of Older People, Chris Fleming, sent Health Minister Andrew Little a letter in June pleading with the Government to address urgent workforce shortages in the aged residential care sector.

“In his letter, Mr Fleming states, ‘all of the signs are present indicating imminent system failure unless meaningful and tangible actions are taken’.

“The Government ignored this desperate warning, and just two months later, Mr Fleming’s prediction has rung true, with St Joseph’s Home of Compassion in Upper Hutt announcing its closure this week due to staff shortages.

“Rather than take urgent action and immediately demand that nurses be put on the straight-to-residency pathway to attract them to New Zealand, the Health Minister moved at snails’ pace to announce a Shortland St recruitment campaign.

“If the Government continues to fail to take urgent action to get more nurses into the country, more aged care facilities will be forced to shut their doors.

“The closing of aged care facilities means forcing some of the most vulnerable New Zealanders out of the places they live and will have negative health and wellbeing outcomes, putting further pressure on hospitals which are already in crisis and reaching breaking point.

“Every health outcome is going backwards under this Labour Government. Minister Little has been too focused on his ideological and bureaucratic health reforms instead of on people. He has failed at his core responsibility of ensuring New Zealanders get timely access to health services.”