Wellington Regional Hospital. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington Regional Hospital. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington Regional Hospital is wrestling with unprecedented staff absences, high vacancy levels, and capacity issues to the point that average hospital occupancy hit 104 per cent on June 1.
This week the two DHBs in the region decided to pause non-urgent care, leaving hundreds waiting for surgery.
But those needing non-deferrable care are also having to wait. The waiting list for cardiac surgery is full and private capacity is maxed out.
Sarah Ward, who is a New Zealand Nurses Organisation delegate and registered nurse working on the Cardiology Ward at the hospital, said earlier this month nurses were burnt-out and fatigued.
"On some shifts the ward is working four nurses down, but we are still expecting a high number of elective and acute patients coming in from the Emergency Department. We cannot continue to provide adequate nursing care with so few nurses."
Hutt Valley DHB and Capital & Coast DHB chief medical officer John Tait said on average nearly a fifth of more than 3500 clinical staff at the hospital have been absent in recent weeks.
"Absences have been for a range of reasons such as general illness, long Covid-19 tail, and the need to isolate or care for dependants who may need to isolate," he said.
DHB meeting papers published this week said the long tail of the Omicron outbreak meant there were between 25 to 40 patients with the virus across the region's three hospitals at any given time.
Vacancies are also a challenge, with clinical staff turnover sitting at about 18 per cent.
Despite ongoing recruitment efforts, 14 per cent of clinical roles remain vacant.
The meeting papers said Wellington Regional Hospital occupancy was recorded as being 104 per cent on June 1.
A recent report by the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists said hospitals could not operate at 100 per cent occupancy.
Spare beds were needed to accommodate variations in demand and ensure that patients could flow through the system, the report called Hospitals on the Edge said.
Hutt Hospital. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The report said a lack of available beds resulted in further delays in emergency departments, elective procedures being cancelled, and patients placed in clinically inappropriate wards.
A figure of 85 per cent occupancy was often quoted as the ideal in balancing clinical safety and cost-efficiency, the report said.
Tait said occupancy fluctuated from day to day as patients were admitted and discharged.
He said more broadly the hospital was operating at an average 94 per cent occupancy of more than 350 resourced adult inpatient bed spaces.
Wellington's ICU has operated at an average 70 per cent occupancy of 22 bed spaces.
Tait said while these occupancy levels were consistent with previous years, there were the additional challenges of staff absences and surges through the region's emergency departments.
For the week ending May 29, 41 per cent of people presenting at Wellington's emergency department had to wait more than six hours to be seen.
The emergency department's occupancy was above 90 per cent over the same time period.
Earlier this week DHB bosses announced they would be deferring the vast majority of planned care for another four weeks as hospitals struggled with demand and staff shortages.
The decision has meant hundreds of people waiting for planned surgeries in Wellington and the Hutt Valley will have to wait even longer.
Tait made assurances non-deferrable care, particularly cardiac surgery, will continue as normal as will thoracic, cancer, and paediatric care along with some day surgery.
"As always, anyone requiring acute or emergency care will receive it without deferral."
Tait confirmed the cardiac surgery waiting list was full with 76 patients on it, which is well above the target size.
The waitlist has been affected by reduced surgeries due to additional Covid-19 related cancellations.
"We have been utilising as much private capacity as we can but this is insufficient to reduce the waitlist; we are considering what other options may support sector capacity. This is a national issue," the meeting documents said.
Hutt Valley DHB and Capital & Coast DHB members are meeting for the final time this morning to consider the state of the hospitals, ahead of the Government's health reforms being introduced.
