Key Takeaways
- Health New Zealand has experienced another major technology outage, affecting hospitals in the lower North Island
- The outage, which lasted for at least six hours, impacted clinical and administrative systems, including the Single Clinical Portal
- The medical specialists union has raised concerns about the safety of patients and staff due to the ongoing technology issues
- The union attributes the problems to resource constraints, budget limitations, and staffing cuts, including the loss of senior data and digital staff
- Health New Zealand has confirmed that services continued to operate safely throughout the day, but the union is calling for greater accountability from senior leadership and the board
Introduction to the Outage
The latest technology outage to hit Health New Zealand has left hospitals in the lower North Island struggling to access critical systems. A clinician working in one of the affected hospitals described the situation as "shambolic," while the medical specialists union said that the ongoing technology issues were putting both staff and patients at risk. The outage, which lasted for at least six hours, affected a range of clinical and administrative systems, including the Single Clinical Portal, a platform used by Wellington, Hutt, and Wairarapa Hospitals to access patient data.
Impact on Patient Care
The inability to access patients’ vital health information has been identified as a significant clinical risk. A healthcare worker, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that Te Whatu Ora, the health authority responsible for the region, did not know which provider was managing Capital and Coast’s IT systems over the summer break. This lack of knowledge has raised concerns about the potential disruption to patient care pathways and the risks to emergency departments. The medical specialists union has also highlighted the challenges of trying to search a patient’s medication history manually, particularly if the patient is already in treatment or very unwell.
Ongoing Technology Issues
The Single Clinical Portal has been malfunctioning for months, according to Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton. Health New Zealand admitted to major problems with the portal late last year and said it would take months to fix. As a result, clinicians have been forced to use workarounds on a daily basis, resulting in significant delays. Dalton attributes the ongoing technology issues to resource constraints, budget limitations, and staffing cuts, including the loss of senior data and digital staff. The union has expressed concerns that the axing or deferral of over 100 IT projects, delays to rollouts, and outages are not only affecting patient care but also making it harder for healthcare workers to do their jobs.
Staffing Cuts and Budget Limitations
The medical specialists union has raised concerns about the impact of staffing cuts on the health system. Senior data and digital staff have confirmed that many more staff took voluntary redundancy than Health New Zealand was able to spare, leaving the department understaffed. The union has questioned why Health New Zealand is contracting out IT services to fill gaps when it has recently let many staff go. Dalton has called for greater accountability from Health New Zealand’s senior leadership and board, saying that they need to take responsibility for the ongoing issues and the impact of budget and job cuts.
Response from Health New Zealand
Health New Zealand group director of operations for Capital, Coast, and Hutt Valley Jamie Duncan confirmed that there had been an issue with the digital infrastructure that provides access to a range of clinical and administrative systems across part of the Central Region. He stated that functional access to critical systems had been established around 9 am, and services continued to operate safely throughout the day. All systems were accessible by 4 pm, and teams were working to ensure all users were fully restored. However, the medical specialists union remains concerned about the ongoing technology issues and the impact on patient care and staff workload.
Conclusion and Call to Action
The latest technology outage to hit Health New Zealand has highlighted the need for greater investment in the health system’s digital infrastructure. The medical specialists union is calling for Health New Zealand’s senior leadership and board to take accountability for the ongoing issues and to prioritize the needs of patients and staff. As Dalton said, "what patients and communities would like is to be diagnosed and treated in a timely fashion near to where they live, but the way Health New Zealand is going about their business is making healthcare harder to access and more difficult as a system for healthcare workers to work in." The union’s concerns about the impact of staffing cuts, budget limitations, and technology issues on patient care and staff workload must be taken seriously, and urgent action is needed to address these concerns and ensure that the health system is able to provide safe and effective care to all patients.