Staff experiences on deployment Cam Grant-Fargie, recently returned to Taranaki from deployment to Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers' Memorial Hospital in Hastings. Here's what he had to say about his experience...
Cam (centre) with some of the staff he worked with during his time deployed in Hastings.
I arrived in Hawke’s Bay on Wednesday 22 February after receiving an in-depth brief from the national workforce team prior to leaving the comfort of Taranaki. When asked where I wanted to work, I put my hand up for surgical or medical wards to cover absent staff. I was placed in ward A4 – General Surgical – a bit like Ward 3A in Taranaki, but without Urology. The pre-deployment briefing made me worried about the conditions and I planned accordingly for impacted infrastructure (water/power) and potential for limited creature comforts. I was very relieved to find that Hastings was not as significantly impacted as I had feared. We were well looked after and shared a house with other deployed workers. During the 10 days I spent in Hastings, I worked in the Surgical Ward (the first time in years!) all but one day. The manager of the ward had resorted to sleeping in her office for a few days due to living in Napier and working in Hastings; the roads subsequently opened allowing staff to travel safely between the two cities which relieved staffing troubles somewhat.