Coronavirus: Tauranga and Whakatāne Hospitals move to reduce outpatient visits

Tauranga Hospital. Photo / File

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board are moving to reduce the number of patients coming to Tauranga and Whakatāne Hospitals for outpatient visits in light of the Covid-19 crisis

BOPDHB chief operating officer Pete Chandler said over the last three weeks their teams had been intensively planning for the various scenarios they might have to deal with if the Bay of Plenty got any cases of Covid-19.

"Now we are turning our attention to trying to reduce the numbers of patients that come to our hospitals for outpatient visits," he said.

"This is not a national requirement, but we have decided that it would be a very sensible thing to do and many patients are now contacting us to ask for their appointment to be by phone or Facetime, Skype or Zoom."

Pete Chandler, Bay of Plenty DHB chief operating officer. Photo / File

Chandler said this was not an easy change to make and some outpatient consultations required physical assessment or hospital tests.

"However, where it is safe and suitable for patients we are going to start trying out alternative ways to providing your care. This is something we have been working towards for some time, before the Coronavirus outbreak.

"Because we're trying to do this quickly, it may not be perfect at the start," Chandler said.

"We're going to have to make significant changes to our internal processes to make this happen so please bear with us as there will be lots of learning as we begin this significant change."

Chandler said they would be announcing more details as it developed, but for now their message was:

• If you have an outpatient appointment at Tauranga or Whakatane Hospital, please plan to attend as normal at this stage

• However, you may be contacted by the hospital about the possibility of a telephone consultation instead. If so, we will give you all the information you need at that point

• Some teams are going to try to use video consultations (e.g. through Skype, Facetime or Zoom). We will only do this where it's appropriate, and where you feel able to use this technology, possibly with the support of a friend of family member

• People living in rural areas, especially in the Eastern Bay, don't always have internet access or phone coverage so if this is you then don't worry – just let us know if we make contact with you.