Starship reschedules children’s cancer treatments as nurses’ union challenges staffing levels

Starship Children’s Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, has rescheduled some children’s cancer treatments because of nursing shortages and high demand, its director said on 15 October. Health Minister Simeon Brown said a handful of chemotherapy sessions were delayed by no more than seven days and two bone marrow transplants were moved slightly. The changes have raised concerns for families and renewed a dispute over staffing on the ward.

What Starship and the health minister confirmed

Dr Greg Williams, Starship’s director, said the paediatric haematology and oncology service made the decisions according to clinical need. He said the aim was to work within available capacity and reasonable timeframes while maintaining the safety and quality of care. Staff from elsewhere in Starship and Auckland City Hospital were supporting the oncology departments, he told RNZ.

Brown’s office said the two bone marrow transplants were still going ahead. Brown has asked Health NZ chief executive Dale Bramley for an explanation. The available reports do not establish how many children were affected or when the rescheduling began.

Nurses’ union cites rising understaffing

New Zealand Nurses Organisation president Kerri Nuku said Health NZ data obtained by the union showed that 85% of shifts on the haematology and oncology inpatient ward were understaffed in August. The union’s figures put the share at 18% in January and 53% in July. Nuku told RNZ the August shortfall was equivalent to six full-time nurses.

Brown’s office denied a hiring freeze. It said vacancies arose through natural attrition, including parental leave and retirement, and expected them to be filled by December or January. The office also said specialist paediatric oncology posts require skills and experience that graduate nurses cannot always provide.

Concern for children and families

An anonymous nurse quoted by the New Zealand Herald said staffing had been critically short throughout the year and expressed concern about possible effects on patients. That was a concern about risk, rather than a reported finding that a child had been harmed by a delay.

Child Cancer Foundation chief executive Monica Briggs said uncertainty about treatment could be unsettling for families. She said the foundation would continue to offer practical and emotional support.