Extra elective surgery at Hawke's Bay Hospital is partly responsible for the Hawke's Bay District Health board's failure to meet its Emergency Department minimum-stay target, says board chief executive Kevin Snee.
"Our two main performance challenges continue to be delivering elective discharge numbers, which we have agreed with the Ministry of Health, and reducing the time people spend in our Emergency Department," he said.
Mr Snee said March had been very difficult "with Emergency Department breaches being driven by lack of bed availability due to a very full hospital".
"There has been an increased level of medically complex patients needing treatment, and our efforts to deliver elective surgical activity have also worked to drive higher bed occupancy.
"Some innovative work is being done to improve patient flow, for example beds on Ward A2 are being used as a daytime resource, nursed by acute assessment unit nurses and used to take patients awaiting discharge, freeing overnight ward beds more quickly."