A Westport woman has warned that someone will die soon if staffing issues at the area's new hospital aren't sorted out.
Buller Health has been forced to occasionally close overnight amid the struggle to find workers.
The nearest alternative is Te Nīkau, Grey Hospital in Greymouth — about an hour and a half away.
Westport local Amanda Loversidge said the area's health situation is "not secure, it's not stable".
"It's quite worrying," she told Breakfast. "I believe that it is a matter of time before someone is not gonna be able to make it to Greymouth and we will have a death, if we have not already.
"An example is, my newest granddaughter could've died a couple of weeks ago because she was unable to be admitted to Westport Hospital due to bronchitis which then turned into RSV [respiratory syncytial virus].
"They weren't closed, but they didn't have enough staff on the floor to be able to admit another patient."
When that happens the closest hospital is an hour and a half away in Greymouth, which some locals fear could prove fatal. (Source: 1News)
After her condition deteriorated further overnight, Loversidge's granddaughter had to be taken to Greymouth, because Buller Health (Westport Hospital) still couldn't admit her the next morning.
"My daughter took her through to Greymouth and that's where she stopped breathing, on the way through," Loversidge said.
"A member of the public noticed that she was driving very fast, with a baby on her knee, and constantly honking her horn.
"So the member of the public called into the police and said they thought someone was having a medical emergency."
The police caught up with the pair, pulled them over and called an ambulance to meet them.
"She needed to be put on oxygen in the ambulance," Loversidge said. "That's just one example, it could've been a death.
"You're living in a beautiful town, in a beautiful location, but if anything serious happens health-wise, you don't know if you're going to get the care that your loved ones or yourself needs here. That's very, very scary."
In response, Te Whatu Ora's Dr Graham Roper said: "I totally understand and empathise with the concern.
"But I feel confident that we are making headway with our recruitment, and I feel that our staffing levels are all heading in the right direction, so that we can continue to support the community and provide the care they need."
He said it's not uncommon for rural Kiwis to travel for healthcare.
"Rare and occasional events do happen," he told Breakfast. "Since October last year, we have only had to close overnight on 12 occasions at Westport and that's due to a combination of sickness, leave and carrying vacancies."
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