2 March 2022

Page 1

Waimea Weekly Locally Owned and Operated

Wednesday 2 March 2022

DHB culture blasted Over the past three months, 17 current and former staff members from six different departments of Nelson Marlborough Health have spoken to Waimea Weekly alleging a culture of bullying and poor working conditions. Jonty Dine reports.

She was good at her job, she’d been doing it for ten years and enjoyed the satisfaction it gave her – she was helping people. But she says a sustained bullying campaign by her manager at Nelson Marlborough Health left her broken, she lost confidence and was constantly on the verge of tears.

Her story is not unique. Waimea Weekly has conducted interviews with 17 current and former staff members of the DHB as well as one former board member. They say management do not deal with chronic understaffing or complaints of bullying. Of the 17 people, all have asked that their names are not printed

as they fear being targeted by senior management, and all but two spoke to us individually. All interviews were conducted face-to-face and recorded for accuracy. The people we spoke with are nurses, administration staff, doctors, support workers, surgeons and an anaesthetist. The PSA Union which represents

health workers say NMH has one of the worst procedures in dealing with bullying complaints its seen. Waimea Weekly reached out to Nelson Marlborough Health for an interview with its CEO Lexie O’Shea, that request was declined. She did send a written statement. “Bullies are not welcome at Nel-

son Marlborough Health. Complaints meeting the definition of bullying are investigated by a registered investigator and a panel reviews the report. The panel always includes union representation and can include external parties.”

see page 4

Willow Bank’s next big project Jo Kent A huge historical dolls house has found a new home at Wakefield’s Willow Bank Heritage Village with hopes of restoring it to its former glory. Coordinator for Willow Bank, Julian Eggars, says a museum in Granity was looking for someone to take on the project after the 2.9-metre-tall house was donated by a model enthusiast. “We got a phone call from a friend at Northern Buller Museum asking us if we’d like the dolls house. We immediately said yes and drove down to pick it up without realising just how big it was,” Julian says. “We just about managed to fit it in the truck.” The giant dolls house is so large that Julian says they’ve had to rebuild their playhouse shed to be able to fit it inside.

Willow Bank coordinator Julian eggars peers through the window of the new doll’s house. Photo: Jo Kent.

see page 2

SUPPORT YOUR WAIMEA COMMUNITY SPRIG + FERN TAVERN’S UPPER QUEEN | THE MEADOWS | BRIGHTWATER | MAPUA | MOTUEKA

Additional copies $1

100% locally owned and operated

www.waimeaweekly.co.nz


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
2 March 2022 by Waimea Weekly Archives - Issuu