Jamie Duncan: Health NZ Group Director Operations, Hospital and Specialist Services on the state of Wellington Hospital overcrowding

Health officials have outlined the dire state of Wellington Hospital’s overcrowded emergency department as reports show a third of patients are being treated in corridors.

The information was revealed in a detailed business case for the refurbishment of the ED, published by Health New Zealand, which said the ED was 'clinically and culturally unsafe'.

Health NZ's Jamie Duncan says the staff working in those areas are required to stay vigilant and keep an eye on people.

"They're always taking observations as well and that's standard practice and standard care that you'd expect in any emergency department."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I have it, so this is literally leading to death.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
That was in a research article that was published in
two thousand and one. I think you're referring to the
headline from the Museum Herald today.

Speaker 1 (00:12):
Yeah, the ten percent increase in patient mortality.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Where it says there's a seven day mortality risk where
there is access block greater than ten percent, that's what
That's what the article says. I think it's important that
the public know that we offer we are the safest
place for you to be when you're acutely unwell, and
it's really important that people have trust and confidence that
the care that they need isn't from very caring professionals
when they turn up. No, absolutely, it is. No.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
What I was going to say, is is it though
leading to deaths? Like the Herald says.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
Don't believe that it is, and we don't have numbers
that support that.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Oh well, they say it's because there's lack of access
to a call bell an emergency oxygen. And if you've
been treated in the corridor and that you probably don't
have access to a call bell and emergency oxygen, do you.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
So we have those patients, we have a circulating year
in the middle of our emergency department, so those patients
are within a meter or two of staff that are
in that area. Yes, there are issues with not having
call bells, but there is oxygen that we can have
on trolleys and on beds that people have access to.
But what it does require is really as great vigilance
from the staff that are working in those areas to

(01:18):
make sure they're keeping an eye on people, They're rounding
on them often, they're always taking observations as well, and
that's standard practice and standard care that you expect in
any emergency department.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Yeah, there's another four years before you're getting any more space,
is that right?

Speaker 2 (01:33):
The Eedy refurbishment will see us moving in in twenty
twenty nine, that.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
Is correct, Yeah, And so what are you going to
do on till then? I mean, surely you can't be
shoving people in corridors for another three or four years.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
We have a really focused program of work on making
sure that we are improving our short to stand eaedy
target and obviously we're improving hospital flow. So this is
a whole of hospital and whole of health system issue
that occurs acutely in our emergency departments. So a huge
program of work underway to make sure we can try

(02:04):
and trade as safest place possible for our patients.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
If I talk to you winter twenty six, Winter twenty seven,
Winter twenty eight, no people in hospitals are needy. No
people in corridors are needy.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
That is absolutely our aspiration. Although you're safer to be
at a corridor than than your home, So we're looking
at making sure that we can have additional spaces to
care for people. We're making sure that people are presenting
in two to their ED when that's clinically appropriate, and
that people are aware of their other options, so they
include things like healthline, community pharmacy GP, accidents and medical centers,

(02:37):
as well as making sure that people that are enter
in patient beds are there when they need medical treatment
and if they don't need medical care any longer than
they're out in the community, which is the best place
for them to be.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
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