Covid 19: Delta patients shift from Auckland Hospital to ease workload

Auckland DHB has hit 86 per cent capacity in ICU. Photo / File

Covid-19 positive patients are being transferred from Auckland Hospital to others in the region as Auckland DHB hits 86 per cent capacity in ICU.

Alex Pimm, the board's director of patient management services, said this was part of its regionally co-ordinated approach to managing capacity and demand across Counties Manukau DHB, Waitematā DHB, and Auckland DHB.

Pimm gave an assurance that the metro Auckland DHBs were well placed to manage the increasing number of Covid-19 patients.

Some patients are being transferred from Auckland Hospital to others across the region "to manage and balance the Covid-19-related workload", Pimm said.

Waitemata DHB is at 50 per cent capacity in ICU. Photo / File

As at October 22, 26 of the 50 patients receiving hospital-level care were at Auckland DHB, and none of the patients were in ICU.

"We would like to assure the public that the Auckland region's hospitals are well placed to manage increased patient numbers as a result of community transmission," Pimm said.

"Anybody requiring healthcare over this long weekend should contact Healthline, contact their usual primary care provider or visit their nearest emergency department if needed."

Northern Region Health Coordination Centre lead Margie Apa said the three Auckland DHBs are working together to manage patients in the best possible environments.

In the metro Auckland region, there are 129 resourced ICU/HDU beds; 94 in Auckland which includes neonatal and paediatric intensive care unit beds, 25 in Counties Manukau and 10 in Waitematā.

ICU/HDU occupancy in the metro Auckland region was currently at 86 per cent in Auckland, 44 per cent in Counties Manukau and 50 per cent in Waitematā.

Apa said that for many months, hospitals have been proactively increasing negative pressure capacity and improving ventilation within ED, ICU and a number of wards, while continuing to provide high-quality care for all patients.

"Work currently being carried out across all hospitals to build more negative pressure rooms is part of the long-term planning as part of future-proofing capacity," she said.

"Hospital staff closely monitor capacity and demand from Covid-19 patients or other patients who may require hospital-level or intensive care.

"Since last year the metro DHBs have been operationalising plans to increase capacity to safely care for Covid-19 patients in dedicated separate areas of the hospitals."

Apa said in some areas, intensive care bed spaces may be used as dedicated Covid-19 patient areas, while other areas across the region will continue to be used for non-Covid-19 patients who may need intensive care.

"As part of resilience and surge planning, the DHBs plan for a range of potential scenarios and continuously upgrade and improve facilities," she said.

"DHBs never stop improving facilities, and that is obvious right now as the hospitals continue to build negative pressure capacity."