‘Culture of Fear’: NZNO Survey Reveals Crisis at Hillmorton Hospital

Four out of five nurses feel unsafe as mental health facility grapples with staffing shortages, broken equipment, and rat infestations

**Christchurch, 16 May 2026** — Nurses and care workers at Christchurch’s Hillmorton Hospital are facing a crisis of burnout, fear, and unsafe conditions, according to a New Zealand Nurses Organisation survey that paints a damning picture of New Zealand’s mental health system.

The survey of 186 staff at Hillmorton — the country’s largest forensic mental health facility — found 80 percent felt unsafe due to understaffing on shifts worked in the past month. Nearly 90 percent reported working with broken or faulty equipment.

Staff described a litany of problems: broken heaters, peeling wallpaper, graffiti, worn carpet soaked in urine, and infestations of ants, rats and mice. At a more serious level, staff reported security cameras not working, doors that don’t lock properly, malfunctioning duress alarms, and blind spots where patients climb walls and fences.

Four out of five nurses and care workers had felt unsafe at work in the past month due to understaffing.

“The job eats away at you,” one nurse told RNZ. “You dread going to work.”

Hillmorton Hospital registered nurse and NZNO delegate Sarah-Jane Perkin said staff were “cannibalised” from one ward to another to plug staffing gaps, meaning care was often rationed, missed, delayed or compromised.

“Just over half — 52 percent — of workers felt unable to raise concerns without fear of blame or retaliation,” Perkin said. “A further third sometimes felt unable to safely raise concerns.”

The survey found 87 percent reported negative impacts on their wellbeing, with one-third experiencing burnout and another third reporting constant stress and anxiety.

Te Whatu Ora’s own data showed the Whaikaha forensic ward was staffed below safe levels 91 percent of the time last year. Eight other wards were unsafely staffed or close to it for about half of all shifts.

The findings come amid heightened scrutiny of Canterbury’s mental health services. A 2024 inquiry into the 2022 murder of Laisa Waka Tunidau by a Hillmorton forensic patient found “significant failings,” including critical staffing shortages.

For Māori communities, the situation carries particular weight. Māori are disproportionately represented in New Zealand’s mental health system, and culturally safe care is an ongoing challenge. The Tāngata Whaikaha — people with lived experience of mental distress — workforce has been highlighted as an area needing growth.

Health New Zealand’s National Director of Mental Health Phil Grady said he had contacted NZNO and committed to visiting the hospital. He said all staff had a right to feel safe at work.

The union is calling for urgent action to address recruitment, infrastructure, and workforce wellbeing.

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