Patient in need of urgent medical help medivacked on Air NZ cargo flight as QFT still not available to Niue

A woman in her mid-thirties was medivacked on an Air NZ cargo flight this afternoon. According to the Director-General of Health and Social Services, Gaylene Tasmania the patient requires urgent medical care. The patient was accompanied by a medical official, a nurse who arrived on the same flight from Auckland to travel with the patient and provide care during the three hour flight.

“(The) patient requires urgent medical attention and we were able to get clearance only for the patient to go on this cargo flight today”.

The patient was transported to the aircraft in the ambulance and to the flight by the ground crew. It’s understood that the Air NZ cargo flight to Niue does not have the normal cabin crew.

BCN News understands that the family were hoping that the patients sister would be able to accompany her but again were not able to get a voucher for a quarantine facility in Auckland.

According to the Director General, this is a hospital to hospital medical situation which means the patient will be transferred directly from the airport to the hospital on arrival into Auckland.

BCN news is aware that this patient is one of many patients who have been waiting months for a voucher for them to get on a flight to NZ.

Since the voucher system was introduced by NZ in September last year, the Niue health Director Dr. Eddie Akauola has expressed grave concerns for the referral patients not being able to get to NZ because of the lack of vouchers.

Veteran MP O’love Jacobsen has also weighed in on the desperate situation for Niue patients unable to get vouchers to seek further medical care in New Zealand, and calling on the government to do something on the quarantine free travel to New Zealand.

Dr. Akauola had told BCN news last month, that the quarantine free travel to New Zealand will definitely help their patients but as yet, there is still no confirmation of this happening anytime soon.