RSV Outbreak: Continued pressure on Wellington ED as case numbers change

Wellington's emergency department has been under sustained pressure for months. Photo / Mark Mitchell

There is less than half the number of children in Wellington Hospital with respiratory illness compared to a week ago, though pressure on emergency departments remains.

On Tuesday figures provided by the district health board showed there were 16 children with RSV and respiratory-type illnesses in Wellington Regional Hospital, with three in ICU.

This is less than half the number of children there a week ago, with 34 reported by health authorities on Tuesday July 13.

In Hutt Hospital there are eight children with RSV or respiratory illness, compared to 11 a week ago.

Capital & Coast and Hutt Valley DHB Provider Services director Joy Farley said occupancy could fluctuate, but Wellington's ED had been exceeding capacity for the majority of each day for months on end.

"As a tertiary provider, Wellington Regional Hospital often operates at 95 per cent occupancy or higher," she said.

"Occupancy can fluctuate – changing from hour to hour, or day to day – as many hospital admissions are unplanned and unpredictable."

"The Wellington ED is full for more than two thirds of each day – regularly exceeding well over 100 per cent occupancy – and this has been occurring since March."

However the demand on services and beds had been exacerbated by the recent RSV outbreak.

"A marked recent increase in patients with respiratory illnesses presenting to Wellington ED and being admitted to the hospital has further increased demand and decreased bed availability, contributing to very long stays in the ED."

Patients presenting after 11pm with less acute conditions may wait six or more hours to see a doctor. Photo / 123rf

Farley said patients presenting after 11pm with less acute conditions may wait six or more hours to see a doctor but could still receive treatment such as pain relief while they waited.

She confirmed the two DHBs were continuing to restrict visitation at both Wellington Regional and Hutt Valley Hospitals, asking children under 12 to not visit unless there was a clear medical need.

In Wellington Hospital's NICU, only parents and caregivers are permitted to visit, and in Wards 1 and 2 no one under 16 is permitted. Only two people are allowed to support an ED patient.

Children under 12 are not permitted in ED, Maternity and Delivery wards, Wards 4 and 5 North or the Acute Frailty Unit.

In Hutt Hospital no one under 16 is permitted in the children's ward, and no one under 12 in ED, SCBU Maternity and Delivery.