Let’s call it and say that workers going to and from Christchurch Hospital at night-time deserve better.

This is after what’s being described as a “very violent” assault on a staff member heading home after work last weekend. It’s understood the woman had been on a shift at the birthing centre, on Antigua Street.

What we know at this point is that security around the hospital’s birthing unit has been bolstered and, as a temporary measure, security escorts are being provided for staff, student nurses, and midwives during the hours of darkness.

The thing is though, should this extra security be a permanent arrangement for hospital staff? And if it’s needed at the hospital, what about other workers going to and from work at night and first thing in the morning?

And this is where I’m feeling a bit torn. Because, yes, of course nurses and everyone at the hospital need to be safe. And yes, I think these extra measures do need to be permanent. So I’m on the side of the hospital staff here.

And if there’s anything people like midwives and nurses get, it’s a lot of support from the public. Especially when things like this happens – and rightly so.

Also, because safety has been a real concern with staff having to park far away from the hospital campus.

I always remember the call we had from a nurse a couple of years ago, and how she told us she always carried a pair of scissors in her pocket when she walked to her car at night, because she was so worried about her safety.

So Health NZ has told staff in an email that an incident happened last weekend and explained what it’s doing to keep people safe, saying that safety is its top priority.

The email says: “Additional security measures have been put in place after a serious assault last weekend. Our security team has, as a temporary response, bolstered security in the area around this part of the hospital. This will be a priority over the coming days to provide an extra layer of security.”

And the bolstering of security that they talk about are the security escorts being provided for staff, student nurses, and midwives during the hours of darkness, and mobile patrols being focussed on shift changes when people are coming and going.

But there are plenty of other people doings jobs where they have to turn up and leave at odd hours – late at night, the middle of the night and first thing in the morning. And they have to run the gauntlet in the dark.

But here’s where I land. I think that, when it comes down to it, not every worker can expect to have extra security put on. But when it comes to nurses and midwives here in Christchurch, they should.

Don't ask me for a thorough explanation of why I feel that way because I know that, in some ways, it doesn’t make sense. But that’s where I’m at.

Reading between the lines, I think the email that went around health staff indicates that these extra security escorts are going to be nothing more than temporary. Because it included all the usual stuff about the incident being a timely reminder for hospital staff to look after themselves and others.

The emails says: “Ensuring your personal safety when leaving or arriving at the hospital involves a mix of situational awareness, planning and taking precautions.

“Whether within one of our campuses or travelling to and from work, please be always conscious of your security and take appropriate actions to protect yourself and your property. Taking these precautions can help minimise risks and ensure your personal safety.”

So a bit of health and safety backside covering, but medical staff deserve better than that.

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In an ideal world, I would love us to have more trains.

In an ideal world, I think it would be great if all our big cities had rail passenger services.

Not just Auckland and Wellington that Transport Minister Chris Bishop was talking about when he announced this morning that there’s $600 million in this week’s Budget going into rail.

I won’t go all scratched record on it and start asking where the money is for the Greater Christchurch area, but I would love to see money going into commuter rail here.

Because if we do think rail has a future in New Zealand —and I’m talking about passenger rail as well as sending freight by rail— I think it’s more realistic to expect commuters to take the train than people going out of town on holiday.

So that’s one area where I’d put the money – into passenger trains. And that’s probably my ideal world scenario, which I’ll come back to.

What I think is certainly more achievable though, is getting more freight shipped around the place on trains. Because we’ve shown how bad we are as a country at maintaining our roading network. And, if you believe the rail advocates, they’ll tell you that the main problem is trucks. That they’re responsible for chewing up the roads.

And, when you travel down the east coast of the South Island, it does strike you how much of a donkey track State Highway 1 is in parts.

Yet we seem to be quite happy for these trucks —designed in countries where they do have massive motorways— to go up and down that donkey track night and day, 365 days a year.

So get more freight on trains first. And then, if we’re going to do anything more with passenger trains, focus on getting people to work and school on a train instead of expecting them to go to Nelson for their holidays on a train.

Because I’ve long thought how brilliant it would be if we had a rail service from Rangiora to the city and from Rolleston to the city.

Imagine what the motorways would look like. Imagine getting into town on a train —not a bus, where you can get all the same disruptions as other vehicles— but you scream into town on the train, you don’t have to worry about finding a park, and then get the train back home again in the evening.

The Canterbury Regional Transport Committee obviously likes the sound of that too.

This is the entity that involves all councils in the canterbury region —including ECAN— and NZTA. And the number one job of the regional transport committee is to implement the Canterbury Regional Transport Plan.

In recent years, there’s been talk of passenger rail services running from the city to Rolleston and as far north as Amberley.

Reading the most recent regional transport plan, the enthusiasm that we were hearing a couple of years seems from the transport committee seems to have been tempered a bit.

There is still political interest in a passenger rail service south of Christchurch but there are no timeframes and, of course, where the money comes from is the stumbling block.

But there are positive signs if you're into the idea of rail, like I am.

The regional transport plan sets a goal of increasing the amount of freight moved by train in Canterbury by 100% over the next eight or nine years. So that’s good.

But it also talks about the population of Selwyn growing by around 58,000 people over the next 20-and-a-bit years. And, in Waimakariri, the population is expected to go up by 25,000 people in the same period.

Christchurch is expected to have another 66,000 people.

So there’s an extra 149,000 people living in the Greater Christchurch area, and we think the Northern Motorway and the Southern Motorway are going to be just fine? Dream on.

And that’s the argument right there for passenger rail services in the Greater Christchurch area.

Which is why when I ask, should we be investing more in rail here in Canterbury, my answer is yes.

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Here’s a story someone told me this morning about what happened within the last six-or-so weeks, when a Christchurch woman took her teenage daughter to the after-hours surgery.

I’m telling you this because the Government has announced that there’s going to be increased funding in Thursday’s budget for after-hours medical care.

Which is great. I’m not going to bag the Government for that. And the fact that people in rural areas are going to get better access to urgent healthcare is great.

But there’s an aspect of yesterday’s announcement that makes no sense to me.

It’s the fact that none of that extra funding is coming Christchurch's way. New Zealand’s second-largest city, and there’s not going to be anything extra pumped into after hours healthcare here.

This is the place where, in the last year or so, we’ve had the 24 hour surgery unable to operate 24/7. Where we’ve had the emergency department turning people away. Shutting its doors because people can’t get into the after hours or can’t afford the after hours and the ED gets overwhelmed.

And this is the city where what I’m about to tell you won’t be a one-off. It won’t be unusual. But it illustrates why it makes no sense whatsoever not to increase the level or capacity of after hours services available here.

So this woman took her teenage daughter to the after-hours in Christchurch.

I won’t go into any medical details other than to say that her daughter was very unwell and, eventually, it was discovered that she was so unwell that she needed surgery.

Which happened. Eventually.

So her mother took her to the after-hours, where they waited six-and-a-half hours to be seen by someone.

They eventually saw a doctor who told them that nothing could be done for them at the after-hours and that they needed to go to the emergency department at Christchurch Hospital.

They went to the hospital and waited through the night until about 4:30 the following morning, when someone came out and told them they were too busy at the emergency department, and they were given a voucher for a free video call consultation.

All up, they had waited about 12 hours to go to the after-hours, be sent to the emergency department, and be told by the emergency department that they were too busy. And then sent home with a voucher for a video consultation.

So they did the video consultation and, at the end of that, they were told they needed to go back to the emergency department.

They went back to the emergency department and saw a doctor, who said that the young woman needed surgery.

This all happened on a Sunday into Monday. So there wasn’t even the Friday and Saturday factor, when after-hours clinics and emergency departments are typically at their busiest.

But, under the Government’s plan, nothing’s going to change here in the Christchurch area. No extra funding. And stories like that one will happen over-and-over again.

So, after waiting all day and night, they had the video consultation about mid-morning and the surgery was done pretty much within 24 hours. That’s how unwell she was.

The Prime Minister says the Government’s plan is all about restoring faith in the country’s healthcare system. He says: When a child’s fever spikes in the middle of the night, parents have somewhere to go without delay. When an elderly person suffers from a fall they won’t be left waiting in pain.”

I don’t know how he can say that to us here in the Christchurch area. I don’t know how he can say that to people living in Waimakariri, who are still waiting for an after-hours.

There’s one on the way, apparently. But it will be another 14 months or so.

And, to be honest, I’ll believe it when I see it because the private outfit behind it has been dragging the chain for quite a while now.

But, even then, that won’t solve the problem of cost. It will still be too expensive for some people to go to the after-hours and they’ll still try to rely on the hospital emergency department.

Which is how things are going to remain here. Which is so wrong.

When it comes to after-hours healthcare, we are being shortchanged big time. And we deserve better.

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