Counties Manukau DHB says construction of 19 new negative pressure rooms in Middlemore Hospital's emergency department won't go out for tender until December. Photo / Mike Scott
Counties Manukau DHB says construction of 19 new negative pressure rooms in Middlemore Hospital's emergency department won't go out for tender until December. Photo / Mike Scott
Stephen Forbes, Local Democracy Reporter
Counties Manukau DHB says construction of 19 new negative pressure rooms in Middlemore Hospital's emergency department won't go out for tender until December, despite the fact it is facing a predicted surge in Covid cases.
The rooms are designed to prevent the spread of airborne viruses like Covid-19 through corridors and air conditioning systems, and the hospital has plans to build them as part of its pandemic preparations.
A healthcare worker from the hospital's emergency department, who wanted to remain anonymous, said it was frustrating that they now probably won't be operational until 2022.
"They haven't even started work on them yet," they said.
Last week the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) said New Zealand was dangerously underprepared for what seemed an inevitable tsunami of community Covid cases.
Recent modelling carried out by Counties Manukau District Health Board showed if border restrictions were loosened for arrivals from countries with high Covid numbers, south Auckland could see between 1000 and 1400 cases a week – even if 90 per cent of the population was vaccinated.
College of Emergency Nurses NZ member and former chairwoman Sandy Richardson said negative pressure rooms are an important way of controlling patients with the virus in emergency departments.
"They are an essential part of any response given the needs of Covid-19," she said. "And the fact they are planning for more rooms suggests they are an essential element of the DHB's Covid-19 response."
But she said it appeared some of Auckland's DHBs were facing delays as they prepare for a projected surge in Covid-19 cases.
"We need to be very mindful that it might not be a controlled environment for that much longer - whereas at the moment it is," Richardson said.
NZNO acting nursing and professional services manager Kate Weston said she was surprised Auckland's DHBs were still preparing for a surge in Covid cases and questioned why the new negative pressure rooms at Middlemore Hospital are still a work in progress.
A spokeswoman for Counties Manukau DHB said the planned rooms are part of a range of measures the DHB is working on to respond to a projected increase in Covid cases.
"Middlemore's readiness to manage an increase in Covid-19 patients is well advanced. Our plans take a whole of system approach and extend beyond the establishment of facilities such as negative pressure rooms."
But they said there could be some roadblocks that could impact when work starts.
"For the planned construction of additional negative pressure rooms tenders will be released in December and construction completion will depend on variables such as design, contractors availability and how we manage construction in our busy emergency department."
They denied there have been delays in the preparation work, but said construction cannot commence without robust planning and preparation to ensure minimal interruption to both patients and staff.
In a statement released last week, the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre Lead (NRHCC) sought to reassure the public about the preparations being made by Auckland's DHBs to cope with a potential surge in Covid cases.
CEO Margie Apa said that hospitals had been proactively increasing negative pressure capacity and improving ventilation within their emergency departments, ICUs and their wards.
