Clinics under the pump
Sickness, burnout and fatigue hit in Covid winter
One Hamilton urgent care clinic is seeing up to 60 extra patients a day, another has seen more than double the number of patients compared to this time last year, while a third’s manager is doing shifts to fill in.
Clinics in Kirikiriroa are joining colleagues around the country in reporting very high demand for their services, with problems compounded by Covid19, winter bugs and staff sickness.
At Anglesea Clinic, staff sickness, extra demand due to respiratory illnesses and patients requiring medical certificates so employers could claim Covid-19 benefits, have added significant pressure, chief executive Julie Karam said.
Demand for services had increased about 20% to 30% a day over the past few months.
Compared to the normal 200 to 220 clients seen daily, that meant an extra 40 to 60 people wanting help each day. GPs, clinics and the hospital’s emergency department were all stretched, she said.
Anglesea, Victoria and Tui clinics were liaising closely with Waikato DHB to try to help meet demand and Karam said there was a risk of staff burnout, with lots of ‘‘Covid fatigue’’.
Annual leave balances had built up and her clinic was trying to prioritise leave for people wanting it, where possible.
‘‘With staff shortages like this and increased demand there is a risk of missing someone, this is our fear. My doctors and nurses are working under tremendous pressure and carry that burden each day. They are the true heroes of this pandemic.’’
There was also a definite – and challenging – upsurge in demand at Victoria Clinic medical centre in recent months, manager Kristyn Mills said. She’s even been pulling shifts to help cover when short-staffed.
Respiratory problems were the main driver for the increased demand at the clinic.
‘‘. . . there is a risk of missing someone, this is our fear.’’
Julie Karam
Anglesea Clinic chief executive
She said this had meant seeing 50% more patients a day over the last two to three months. ‘‘We have put extra doctors on to cope with the demand, but that is not sustainable long term due to the workforce crisis in the health sector.
‘‘We have been fortunate enough to be able to secure medical staff — but we are very worried about the risk of burnout.’’
The problems were compounded by staff sickness and the fact the hospital’s emergency department and other clinics in the city had been sending patients their way.
Mills said she was trying to increase staffing levels as ‘‘we’re definitely struggling’’.
Tui Medical director Dr Navin Rajan said while staff were coping at the moment his two urgent care clinics had seen substantial increases in numbers over the past few months.
In June 2021, his Rototuna clinic saw 2003 patients, but in June this year that number was 2754.
However, their Te Rapa clinic saw 3100 patients in June 2021 compared to 7100 this June. In May, they saw around 9000 patients. ‘‘So it’s quite a substantial increase in the amount of work and it’s definitely having an impact on our ability to service our clients.’’
Rajan said patient numbers had been on the increase since February and they have had to rearrange rosters to make sure there were enough doctors available to meet urgent care requirements.
‘‘We are definitely feeling the pressure, and we have had a flu go through our staff as well.’’