Rural Northland Hospital Downgrade Strains Ambulance Services

The downgrading of a rural Northland hospital to a medical clinic has created significant challenges for local ambulance services, according to a former volunteer who has witnessed the impact firsthand.

The Rāwene Hospital, located in South Hokianga, was reclassified as a medical clinic last year due to a shortage of health professionals, particularly doctors, who could staff the facility overnight. This change has had far-reaching consequences, affecting ambulance services across the district, including the Bay of Islands.

Denis Orme, a former St John volunteer, explained that the transfer of the sickest patients from Rāwene now requires them to be taken to Whangārei Hospital, a 130km journey each way. However, under current regulations, such transfers must be handled by a double-crewed ambulance, which is not always available in the area.

Orme noted that ambulances from nearby towns like Kaikohe, Kerikeri, and Kawakawa are often required to make these trips, tying them up for around five hours at a time. This leaves fewer ambulances available for emergency callouts in other parts of the district, increasing the strain on an already overburdened system.

"It's not untypical to wait an hour or two for an ambulance, which sometimes has to come all the way from Whangārei," Orme said.

Ben Lockie, the Northland district operations manager for Hato Hone St John, acknowledged the difficulties. He mentioned that some non-urgent transport requests from Rāwene were being directed to the emergency ambulance service, further increasing the demand on crews. St John is working with Health New Zealand and Hauora Hokianga to find a sustainable solution.

Northland MP Grant McCallum has also raised concerns, writing to St John and Health New Zealand to address the issue urgently. He explained that ambulances are being diverted from nearby towns to pick up patients, causing delays and affecting the entire Mid-North region.

Orme believes the situation could be improved if patient transfers were allowed to be handled by single-crewed, non-emergency ambulances, as was the case when Rāwene still had a hospital. However, the shortage of St John volunteers and staff in Hokianga has compounded the problem.

For three years, Orme was the only regular volunteer at Rāwene, but his retirement due to ill health has left the area with limited coverage. The St John paramedic at the Rāwene clinic is also unable to respond to emergency callouts, further straining the local service.

Orme emphasized that re-opening the Rāwene ambulance station with at least one officer on duty daily would significantly improve emergency response times. However, St John has not yet commented on whether they are considering recruiting more staff or exploring the use of single-crewed ambulances for non-emergency transfers.

The situation highlights the growing challenges faced by rural healthcare systems, where resource shortages and policy changes can have a ripple effect on essential services like ambulance care.