A review of Nelson Hospital highlights long wait times, understaffing and ageing infrastructure, but cancer survivor and patient advocate Daniel Walker says those issues have been obvious for years. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee
A cancer survivor says a review into Nelson Hospital is "unacceptable" and has found "nothing of substance".
The report released on Wednesday highlights long wait times, understaffing and ageing infrastructure, but cancer survivor and patient advocate Daniel Walker said those issues had been obvious for years and were what prompted the review in the first place.
He said it was disappointing the report didn't offer solutions to those problems.
"I'm incredibly disappointed by it, they basically have had four months to go away and investigate these things that we have been highlighting and they've come back with really nothing of substance or surprise," he said.
Walker said he wanted to make sure Nelson Hospital's management would be held accountable to solve the issues the report had identified.
"One of the [important] things is actually having accountability for their management team, having a plan in place they have to stick to. So if they want to staff it properly, give the details so people can manage their expectations."
He also suggested Nelson Hospital, and others like it, consider hiring patient advocates.
"I think there needs to be a patient advocacy service at each hospital," Walker said.
"So there's somebody there who can go in and find out the information they need and advocate on behalf of the patient."
That was a service Walker said he had longed for while battling cancer.
"I was in the middle of chemotherapy and I had to fight for my own healthcare, and so if there was someone whose role was there to advocate on behalf of the patients, that means I could focus on my health and wellbeing."
Daniel Walker said the lack of any clear recommendations from the report was disappointing.
"There's no clear plan. Basically, from what I've read of the report, they [say they] want to plan or they need to investigate further, but there's no timeline for that. They've left it very open," he said.
"So we're still stuck in the same position we were four months ago ... And that's unacceptable for us in Nelson and for New Zealand as a whole."
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