1 Oct 2025

'We're all breaking' - Thames Hospital understaffed say nurses

From Checkpoint, 4:34 pm on 1 October 2025

Nurses at Thames Hospital say they're still facing understaffing and under resourcing within the wards, Emergency Department and District Nursing team. Last year Thames Hospital nurses picketed for 21 full-time nurses and ten were approved. But the New Zealand Nurses Organisation says Thames Hospital is still a minimum of 26 full-time nurses short. It's prompted calls for better resourcing, especially as the summer months approach, and patients travel to Thames to avoid long wait times in their own regions. Bella Craig reports from Thames.