After-hours doctors shunned
Southlanders continue to shun after hours doctors services in favour of the Southland Hospital emergency department.
The New Zealand Health Survey data from 2016/17 shows that 27.3 per cent of Southland children visited a hospital emergency department during the survey period, compared to a national average of 14.1 per cent for the same period.
The use of an after hours doctor service for children in South- land was only 4.6 per cent, in comparison to the national average of 23.3 per cent.
The survey results also show that 22.6 per cent of Southland adults made use of a hospital emergency department, compared to a national average of 10.9 per cent. By comparison, only 1.3 per cent of Southland adults made use of an after hours service, compared to the national average of 10.3 per cent.
Cost has been one of the primary reason provided for people preferring to use the emergency department to an after hours doctor service.
Southern District Health Board chief executive Chris Fleming said emergency department presentations in Southland were high and placed increased strain on the department.
‘‘While cost of accessing primary care is often quoted as the reason why people may access the Emergency Department, the cost of primary care in Southland benchmarks very well with the rest of the country,’’ he said.
The issue of people going to the emergency department went well beyond after hours care, Fleming said. ‘‘While this issue is often seen as an after hours issue, the reality is the majority of presentations which should be being seen in primary care are within hours where primary care are open for business.’’
This has been a consistent issue during the past couple of years, with Southland Hospital’s emergency department repeatedly urging people to steer clear of the hospital with less urgent ailments and injuries, especially during flu season, in an attempt to ease congestion.
The issue was once again on the agenda at the last Hospital Advisory Committee meeting in March, with periods of high demand at both Southland and Dunedin hospitals being targeted as an area for improvement.