Community
The Government needs to come clean about workforce shortages and staff and patient safety concerns at Southland’s mental health service, Invercargill MP Penny Simmonds says.
“Te Whata Ora’s Southern Directorate Leadership Team has conducted a review into the impacts of workforce shortages, after local clinicians raised concerns, but it is not releasing its findings.
“I have made an Official Information Act request to have this review released publicly, to ensure that clinicians concerns are heard and that staffing issues are addressed.
“The people of Southland need to understand what is happening with mental health services in this province and be reassured about the safety of the service.
“Not releasing this review publicly fails to acknowledge the real concerns around staffing that local clinicians have highlighted and fails to reassure the community about the service.
“There have been chronic understaffing issues at this unit for years now and the Government has done little to support the dedicated, hardworking staff, or patients.
“Southland’s Mental Health team is currently less than 50 percent staffed, with just 4.4 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staff working there, and vacancies for another 5.6 FTE’s
“Clinicians have concerns, about workforce shortages, models of care, working relationships and communication.
“The community needs to understand the staffing and safety issues so that the government can be held to account.