Patient suffers spinal fracture as nurses warn of unsafe staffing levels

A patient fell and fractured his spine amid short staffing at one of the country’s biggest hospital wards, according to nurses who spoke to the Herald. 

The staff at Waitākere Hospital’s Muriwai Ward, which specialises in stroke and older adult care, said the patient collapsed last Monday at 3.30pm as staff handed over to the next shift. 

New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) delegate Gemma Bethell, who was on shift at the time, claimed they were short of three healthcare assistants when he fell. She said her team had warned management of severe or “red” capacity issues during the course of the day. 

“We managed to use a hoverjack to get him [the patient] up off the floor. He did report that he had hit the back of his head and had upper neck pain. The following day when I arrived at work the X-ray report showed he had a thoracic spinal fracture,” she told the Herald. 

NZNO delegate Gemma Bethell has been a nurse for 13 years and works on Muriwai Ward at Waitākere Hospital. Photo / Anna Heath 

Bethell believed the incident could have been avoided had her team been fully staffed and able to check patients regularly. 

“We try our best to keep people safe, but we are falling short of that target on a regular basis. Unfortunately, this gentleman now has a T-spine fracture that could have been prevented,” she claimed. 

However, Health New Zealand’s (HNZ) Waitematā group director of operations, Brad Healy, said that when the man fell the ward was “fully staffed”, and there was additional support in place for patient watches. 

“When staffing pressures arise, a range of escalation processes and staffing support options are available to help maintain safe patient care,” he said. 

During the morning shift last Monday, an extra nurse and healthcare assistant – known as a variance response team – had been deployed to help, but that afternoon they were then needed to cover gaps elsewhere in the hospital. 

HNZ’s assurances of “fully staffed” shifts have not tempered frontline anxiety; some nurses have decided to walk off the job for an hour between 8am and 9am tomorrow over health and safety concerns. 

“None of us want to go this far, but it’s getting worse and not better,” Bethell said. 

An HNZ spokeswoman said 14 staff were rostered to be on duty during Friday’s strike. Eight would stop work while the other six would keep working. 

“Appropriate measures have been put in place to maintain safe patient care and essential services,” she said. 

The strike follows the Herald’s reporting in May where nurses warned of patients languishing in wet beds and being at risk of falls because of understaffing. 

After that story, managers met with staff, but Bethell said: “We haven’t seen any practical outcome.” 

Forty staff signed a letter conveying issues with burnout and nurse-to-patient ratios, which was sent to HNZ chief executive Dale Bramley. He didn’t respond, but a meeting with staff and chief nurse for the Waitematā district, Kate Gilmour, was arranged. 

Neil Warrington, who has worked at Muriwai Ward for 23 years and is also an NZNO delegate, believed HNZ “passed the buck” to Gilmour, who wasn’t in a position to resolve the issue. 

“We want Te Whatu Ora to stand up and take notice. We should not have to fight to keep patients safe.” 

NZNO delegate Neil Warrington is disappointed with the lack of action from Health New Zealand after staff wrote to CEO Dale Bramley in May. Photo / Anna Heath 

However, HNZ’s spokeswoman pushed back on the suggestion that the agency had not acted since concerns were made public in May. She said that since then, two new healthcare assistants had started work on Muriwai Ward. 

She said 18 additional resource nurses had been recruited “across Waitematā” to help cover unplanned leave, and Muriwai had been “prioritised for vacancy cover where available”. 

The Herald asked HNZ why more nurses were not employed full time and rostered to each shift, given the ongoing concerns from staff at Muriwai Ward, but it didn’t respond to that question. 

Warrington said his observations were that the situation had not improved and he’d regularly speak to colleagues who were physically and mentally exhausted. 

“There are staff who have told me that when they go home, they sit down and they cry”. 

Bethell, who’s been a nurse 13 years, was now questioning whether she’d chosen the right profession, and while she reluctantly spoke to the Herald, she felt it was important the views of staff were made clear. 

“I should not be at 36 years old and thinking, ‘Have I chosen the right thing to do with my life?’ We need them [HNZ] to listen to us, and actually make changes,” she said. 

Michael Morrah is a senior investigative reporter/team leader at the Herald. He won News Journalist of the Year at the 2025 Voyager Media Awards and has twice been named Reporter of the Year at the NZ Television Awards. He has been a broadcast journalist for 20 years and joined the Herald’s video team in July 2024.