Concern over people delaying treatment

AUCKLAND: A man who was having a heart attack delayed going to hospital because he did not want to be a burden on New Zealand’s health system.

Within the same week, another patient who had a serious urine infection affecting their kidney put off getting help out of fear of catching Covid19 — ‘‘by the time they turned up to ED they were very, very sick and needed a lot more than antibiotics’’.

These are just some ‘‘extremely unfortunate’’ examples showing the impacts of the Covid19 pandemic that top emergency doctor John Bonning has described to the Weekend Herald.

Dr Bonning — who is also the president of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine — said he wanted to warn New Zealanders about the ‘‘serious catchup’’ that was looming after lockdown was lifted and the urgent need to prepare.

‘‘We are very worried about the people who are not seeking care, and/or are presenting late . . . and we are holding our breath for what is coming once lockdown is lifted.’’

Dr Bonning said there would be a massive catchup — especially in four or five months when people started to develop complications from the elective care they had not been able to get.

‘‘One patient is having to wait a month to get a gallbladder removal and by then he could be facing serious complications.

‘‘There will also be many patients who have delayed treatment that will become acutely unwell.’’

He wanted to encourage people who were seriously unwell to go to hospital.

‘‘For example, if appendicitis is left too long, the bowel perforates and that’s way more complicated.’’

Dr Bonning stressed he was not talking about people with an injured knee or a bit of vomiting but more the urgent cases such as appendicitis, chest pain and heart attacks.

The Waikato doctor said urgent action was needed to prepare for this ‘‘massive challenge ahead of us’’.

‘‘Now, we need the politicians, the health managers and us all to think about the recovery stage and business as usual, getting things back on track by starting to do elective surgeries and clinic appointments.’’

Act New Zealand leader David Seymour said he was hugely concerned about the lack of nonCovid19 treatment available and it was going to cost people’s lives.

‘‘Mental health we already know is being impacted hugely. I’ve heard of several people already who have committed suicide during this lockdown due to stress.’’

Mr Seymour said he had heard from dozens of people whose treatment had been delayed and who were scared about the impact it could have on their health.

‘‘If you have a health issue you should access help,’’ he said.

Directorgeneral of health Ashley Bloomfield said it was very important people did not neglect potentially serious health conditions because of concerns around Covid19.

‘‘As an example, we are aware that emergency department presentations at Wellington Regional Hospital during the lockdown have dropped to an average 95 per day. For the same period last year, this was around 190 per day.

‘‘Please a follow the usual mechanisms for help — contact your GP or call for an ambulance in an emergency,’’ he said. — The New Zealand Herald