Ambulance unable to take obese patients home - report

Two overweight patients remained in hospital for weeks because there was no safe way to transport them home, according to a report.

The Otago District Health Board says the cases highlight the issues being faced by hospitals as obesity rates climb.

The patients had been transported to unnamed Otago hospitals when they were acutely unwell, but St John Ambulance cited their weight and size as reasons the service could not safely transfer them home.

A 10-strong team from the DHB has now prepared a report identifying immediate risks to be remedied in providing health services to the very large, and compiled a priority list for action, The Otago Daily Times reported.

The report, which will go before the board's community and public health advisory committee today, noted that the standard St John stretcher could accommodate a maximum weight of 180kg and was 45cm wide.

It said there were times when St John had needed to find alternative transport for moving obese patients.

But there were "great" risks when non-standard methods were used, St John spokesman David Jasperse said.

The instances cited in the report were not regular occurrences, but were situations likely to be faced more commonly as the obesity rate increased, he said.

Staff could sometimes put themselves at risk to ensure a patient requiring urgent treatment got to hospital.

However, that was a different responsibility for the service than taking them home after treatment.

As well as concerns for staff safety, there was the dignity of the patient to consider, Mr Jasperse said.

The report recommended that the Southern Region Emergency Care Co-ordination Team be asked to review the provision of care services for obese patients with special focus on patient transportation, rural hospitals' and community services' ability to manage obese patients, and Fire Service involvement as the "last line of rescue".

- NZPA