John MacDonald: Is the ED in our second-largest city up to scratch?

Is it good enough?

When you hear a doctor at Christchurch Hospital say that patients are dying in the waiting room and car park because the place is so overloaded, is it good enough?

I’ve been talking to someone who was there at the weekend and saw first-hand how overloaded it actually is, which I’ll tell you about shortly.

But is it good enough that we have Dr Dominic Fleischer saying that patients are dying in the waiting room and car park because the place is so overloaded?

It’s not good enough in my book. But what’s the solution? I honestly think the only genuine solution would be a second general hospital in the greater Christchurch area.

What chance of that happening, do you reckon?  

I was talking this morning with someone who wasn’t shocked to hear what Dr Fleischer is saying. Because this person was at Christchurch Hospital at the weekend and saw first-hand what it’s like.

They went to the emergency department with a family member on Sunday afternoon. So it wasn’t Friday night or Saturday night, when the ED is, typically, its busiest. 

The person they were supporting was “fast tracked”, but still had to wait six hours to be seen. There were other patients being told that the wait for them was going to be eight-to-nine hours.
 
It was standing room only in the waiting area. Support people had to stand and there were people squeezed-in together. Some vomiting. There were people bleeding, with blood running to the floor.

A guy arrived with his wife after he’d been lying on the floor at Bunnings for five hours waiting for an ambulance that never came. He had some sort of back injury.

Then, when the person I spoke to and the family member they were supporting eventually got through to the ED ward, every cubicle was occupied and the corridors were lined with people in seats, wheelchairs, stretchers and beds

The family member they were with had to have a consultation in a resuscitation room, where they were told not to put their bags down - in case they had to leave in a hurry.

Another so-called “private” consultation had to be done in the nurses tea room - because there was no other space available.

There was even a doctor wearing a backpack the whole time because he was being moved from ward-to-ward and didn’t know where he was going to be working next. So he kept his backpack on and his personal belongings with him the whole time

People having invasive tests - like blood  cultures taken - in the corridor. They struggled to even find a wheelchair with a hook to carry IV medication.

This person who spoke to me about their experience said they couldn’t fault the doctors, nurses and security. Everyone was doing their best.

But it did occur to them, what if there was some sort of mass casualty event? Would the hospital be able to cope?

And this person said, based on what they went through, they couldn’t see how it could cope.

Which brings me back to the question I asked right at the start: Is this good enough?

Is it good enough that some patients are waiting 24 hours to be seen? Is it good enough that patients have died in the waiting room and carpark?

Is it good enough? And what would you do to fix it?

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's podcast with John McDonald
from News TALKSB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Is this good enough? Is this good enough? When you
hear a doctor at christ Church Hospital so that patients
are dying in the waiting room and the car park
because the place is so overloaded, Is it good enough?
I've been talking to someone who was there at the
weekend and saw firsthand how overloaded it actually is where

(00:38):
it was standing room only, literally, which I'll tell you
about shortly. In fact, they've been there four times in
the last three weeks. But let's do a bit of
a sense check first. Is it good enough that we
have a senior doctor at Christchurch Hospital saying that patients
are dying in the waiting room and car park because
the place is so overloaded. Doctor Fleischer Dominic Fleischer is

(01:05):
his name, and here's what he told TV and ZAID.
Patients are dying now really because of substantic care. No
patient's dying in the waiting room and corridors, or who
leave and literally drop dead in the car park. That's
atrocious care at some stage. Patients are dying now because
of substandard care. Because of atrocious care, they literally drop

(01:27):
dead in the car park. How does that make you
feel about the state of our hospital system? And is
it good enough? It's certainly not good enough in my book.
What's a solution? Though? Look, I honestly think the only
genuine solution for christ Church Hospital would be a second

(01:48):
general hospital in the graded christ Church area. What chance
of that happening to you? Reckon back to the story
I was telling you about. I was talking earlier with
someone who isn't shocked at all to hear a senior
doctor saying what doctor Dominic Fleischer was saying, because this

(02:09):
person was at Christchurch Hospital at the weekend and saw
first hand what it's like. Now to say that it
was standing room only, it's not a cliche. It was
literally standing room only. So this person went to the
emergency department with a family member on Sunday afternoons. This
wasn't Friday night, wasn't Saturday night when the ED is

(02:29):
typically it's busiest. This was Sunday afternoon, just gone, and
the person they were there with, the person they were supporting,
was fast tracked, right fast tracked, but still had to
wait six hours to be seen, and there were other
patients being told then that the wait for them was
going to be eight to nine hours, and it was

(02:52):
standing room only in the waiting area. Support people had
to stand, so they were standing, and there were people
squeezed in together, sitting next to each other, some vomiting.
There were people bleeding with blood running to the floor.
A guy came in with his wife. This he had
been lying on the floor at Bunnings for five hours

(03:13):
waiting for an ambulance that never came. He had some
sort of back injury, but he'd been on the floor
at Bunnings for five hours. Then, when the person I
spoke to earlier and the family member they were supporting
eventually got through to the eed ward, every cubicle was occupied,
as you'd expect, but on top of that, the corridors

(03:34):
were lined with people in seats, wheelchairs, stretches and beds.
And these seats and wheelchairs and stretchers they were all numbered.
So what that means is they were treatment spaces. Now
the person I spoke to who said the family member
they were with had to have a consultation, the initial

(03:54):
consultation in the resuscitation room. Nowhere else available, and they
were told not to put their bags down in case
they had to leave in a hurry in case someone
needed resuscitating. Another so called private consultation with this person
had to be done in the nurse's tea room because

(04:14):
there was no other space available. This private consultation being
done in the tea room, nurses coming and going, making
themselves cups of tea and coffee. No fault of theirs.
There certainly wasn't a private consultation. There was even one doctor,
this person told me, there was even one doctor wearing
a backpack the whole time. And why think that was?
It was because he was being moved from ward to

(04:36):
ward and he didn't know where he was going to
be working next to. He just kept his backpack on
the whole time, carried his personal belongings with him the
whole time. This person says, there were people having invasive
tests like blood cultures taken in the corridor and they
struggled to even find a wheelchair with a hawk to

(04:56):
carry IV medication. Getting a picture. Now, this person who
spoke to me earlier said, look, they couldn't fault the doctors,
the nurse's security, everybody that they were doing their best,
as everybody always says, But you know it did occur
to them, and the person I spoke to and the

(05:16):
person they were supporting both said to each other at
the time, what if there was some sort of mass
casualty event, would the hospital be able to cope? And
this person said, after their experience at the weekend, they
can't see how it could cope, which brings me back
to the question I asked right at the start, which

(05:40):
I want your answer to now. Is this good enough?
Is it good enough some patients are waiting twenty four
hours to be seen at Christyut's Hospital. Is it good
enough that patients are dying in the waiting room and
dying in the car park? Is it good enough in

(06:01):
New Zealand's second largest city for goodness sake?

Speaker 1 (06:05):
For more from Mornings with John McDonald, listen live to
news talks at be Christchurch from nine am weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.