Hospital has more patients than beds
A mental health patient was kept in a high security ward at Waikato Hospital because of a lack of beds elsewhere.
It comes as the region’s mental health bosses warn an unprecedented level of demand on its services can’t be sustained.
The patient’s father, who asked not to be named, said his son was admitted to the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre in March after becoming acutely unwell.
He was initially admitted to the centre’s intensive care ward, but after a few days was assessed as being well enough to move into an open ward.
However, the patient’s father said staff declined to shift his son because of a lack of beds elsewhere.
‘‘The staff were really good, but they explained that there was no room for my son in the open ward and so my son had to be kept in the high security ward for days longer than he needed to be,’’ the man said.
‘‘He wasn’t free to walk about and visitation was limited, unlike an open ward.
‘‘Basically, my son had his freedom restricted for no reason.’’
The man said his son’s experience reinforced the need to better resource mental health care.
Waikato DHB acting chief medical officer Rees Tapsell said demand on the region’s mental health services had reached unprecedented levels.
And demand on the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre had been especially high in the past four months.
Since Christmas, average patient occupancy rates at the centre hadn’t dropped below 100 per cent.
The Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre has 52 adult in-patient beds, but in recent weeks, patient numbers had neared 70.
‘‘If the restrictions on care are significant, as has been described here with this case, then I’m the first one to say sorry,’’ Tapsell said.
‘‘None of us aspire to that. ‘‘Our model is very clearly a model that supports the idea that when a person is well enough, they should regain their freedom.
‘‘But sometimes we have to ask some patients to accept more compromise in the level and quality of care that we might provide to them as individuals.’’
Although staff were doing an excellent job caring for patients, they were under enormous stress, Tapsell said.
The high demand on the region’s mental health services, including adult community services, was reflected nationwide.
The Health Ministry was kept well informed about occupancy rates and length of stay at the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre, Tapsell said.
‘‘We are coping, but if this level of demand is sustained into the intermediate to long-term future, then it’s simply not sustainable on the basis of the current resources that we have.’’
Mental health presentations at Waikato Hospital’s emergency department had increased almost 400 per cent since 2013.
In April 2016, the Waikato DHB announced it would replace the Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre.
Both the Health Ministry and the DHB agreed the current building puts patients and public safety at risk.
Tapsell said work on the business case for a replacement centre was progressing well.
However, the Health Ministry and Treasury required the health board to follow a particular process and format which the DHB didn’t have control over.