Patients swamp busy hospital

Palmerston North Hospital’s emergency department has been struggling to cope with record demand, despite a lingering summer.

After its busiest February on record, with 3599 patients turning up, numbers surged in March to 3901, or 126 people a day, the second busiest month after August 2015, when there were 4038.

The numbers fly in the face of the traditional summer lull, with other hospitals, including Christchurch and Middlemore, in Auckland, reporting a similar pattern.

It is not even winter yet, when hospitals expect to see an increase in winter sports injuries and respiratory illnesses.

Midcentral District Health Board chief executive Kathryn Cook is pleading with people to get their flu vaccinations to avoid a winter influx.

‘‘Given the northern hemisphere experience, this could be a challenging year for flu.’’

The board aims to have 80 per cent of its staff vaccinated to help restrict the spread of disease.

Cook said there was no indication the high numbers at ED could be attributed to the flu season arriving early.

Further study was under way to understand the reasons for the high numbers of acutely ill and injured patients.

It was believed faster than expected population growth, with an ageing population and also a higher number of children and young people, were contributing.

Operations director for hospital services Lyn Horgan told the Midcentral DHB’S quality and excellence advisory committee on Tuesday the influx of patients was flowing through to affect other parts of the hospital.

Of the people turning up at ED, 34 a day were admitted to the wards, some extremely ill, and the hospital was 90-91 per cent full.

The hospital was struggling to reach targets for elective surgery while acutely ill people needed the beds.

Meanwhile, staff were coping with the increased workload despite building work around them to improve ED facilities.

Work began in November, extending to and closing the front door in March, with works expected to continue into July.

The service was working with a smaller waiting area, and was without two sub-acute consultation rooms and its sub-acute staff base. Protective hoardings had reduced the width of corridors in some places, so only a single person or trolley could get past.

One of the other programmes under way to help reduce the expected surge in winter illness is a team effort with the Central Primary Health Organisation to help patients vulnerable to episodes of acute illness to be cared for in the community, avoiding the need for hospital visits.

‘‘Given the northern hemisphere experience, this could be a challenging year for flu.’’ Kathryn Cook Midcentral DHB