Ward 9a at Wakari Hospital has 16.6 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff, but Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) needs to almost double that figure before the ward can operate at full capacity.
This comes amid concerns of a national shortage of forensic psychiatrists, who are responsible for providing reports on a person’s mental health for the courts, as well as providing treatment for those in prison and in hospital.
HNZ Southern executive director of mental health, addictions and intellectual disability Toni Gutschlag said the 15-bed unit was temporarily operating with a capacity of just 10 beds.
"We are considering a further reduction in bed capacity to eight beds while we continue to recruit for staff vacancies," she said.
"Pressure from shortages in our workforce is being felt on the front lines of our health system and these shortages are having a huge impact on our people and on the services we can deliver."
The issue was not confined to New Zealand, and there was a global shortage of healthcare workers, she said.
The difficulty in recruiting staff had contributed to the decreased ward capacity.
However, this was temporary, and would be increased as soon as the ward was better resourced.
"We currently have vacancies for registered nurses, enrolled nurses and psychiatrists."
The ward had 11.1 FTE registered nurses, and another 12 roles were vacant.
There were 3.4 enrolled nurses and 3.3 positions vacant.
One more senior medical officer position also needed to be filled, and the ward employed 2.1 at present.
Asked where people in need of forensic mental healthcare would go, she said if demand exceeded capacity, people might be temporarily moved to other forensic units.
"The forensic service also has a community team who provide support for mental health consumers as they transition back to the community — providing intensive support to enable them to stay well in the community."
Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton told RNZ earlier this week she had seen a large number of resignations from psychiatrists either choosing to work in better conditions or leaving the field altogether.
The shortage of staff amid an increased demand for psychiatric care was creating dangerous conditions for patients and those looking after them.
"What our members want to do, which are forensic psychiatrists and psychiatrists in other settings, is provide high-quality care for all of the patients wanting to be seen.
"That is simply not possible under current staffing constraints."
