Choosing the best care to suit your family
Sometimes it can be hard to know where to go when you’re feeling sick.
Here are some guidelines to help you choose the right care for you and your whanau.
Call Healthline on 0800 611 116 if you’re not sure where to go for help
Middlemore’s Emergency Department is for life threatening conditions
Many after-hours clinics are subsidised for ACC injuries, people with community services cards and for kids under 13 years.
Middlemore Hospital has experienced 14 years of unprecedented and sustained growth in the number of patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED), exceeding natural population growth.
Over the winter period the hospital is expecting this will increase again due to winter-related illnesses.
‘‘We understand the most common reason for people coming to ED is they believe they are very ill and need hospital-level care. However, we also know only a quarter of these people have been to see their family doctor first,’’ Dr Vanessa Thornton, Clinical Head, ED says.
In the last year finger injuries, headaches and coughs were among the top 10 reasons for people presenting to Middlemore’s ED, with more than 800 people presenting with these conditions.
‘‘When you come to the ED you are assessed and ranked by a nurse at the reception. It can be frustrating to wait for a long time, or have other people being seen before you, but ED is meant for life and limb-threatening situations like major loss of blood after a car crash or heart attacks,’’ Dr Thornton says.
‘‘Your GP is the principal provider of both routine and urgent health care, and is best placed to provide continuity of care. EDs provide shortterm crisis healthcare for people who require urgent care.’’
Dr Thornton says the hospital has instituted a range of measures to deal with the continued pressure on the ED.
‘‘Recently we started a new phone referral system so our GPs can call up for advice and so we can prepare for their patient’s arrival. We’re also working closely with the After Hours Network of healthcare providers in South Auckland to let people know many of them will be subsidised – not just those with Community Services Cards.’’