An Auckland call centre is being blamed by the Royal District Nursing Service for problems and complaints in its home care service.
A 91-year-old man, who declined to be named, said the service had been ''hopeless'' over the past five months, with missed appointments, a general lack of co-ordination and difficulty contacting the Auckland call centre.
The Dunedin man has kept meticulous records of the issues, and said the service worked much better with Presbyterian Support Otago as provider.
Yesterday, the Southern District Health Board confirmed it had received complaints about the RDNS for missed appointments and its call centre earlier this year. It had worked with the organisation with no complaints for 11 weeks.
The board also confirmed it was supplying information to the Health and Disability Commissioner, which is investigating a complaint about RDNS.
In a statement, RDNS South Island service delivery manager Adele Knowles apologised to clients and said the organisation was investigating the problem with the call centre.
''We are working with our provider to identify these issues and quickly find a solution.''
South Island clients had the most difficulty, and it also caused frustration for staff, Ms Knowles said.
The call centre had a capacity issue as client numbers increased.
Ms Knowles' statement was conveyed via an RDNS communications manager in Melbourne after the Otago Daily Times could not reach anyone for comment at the RDNS New Zealand corporate headquarters in Auckland.
''We are in an era of emerging technology and annoyingly it is not ... perfect all of the time.
''We are operating in a country with significant geographic challenges.
This is not an excuse for any service shortcoming, but it is a factor that presents challenges for organisations like RDNS,'' Ms Knowles said
