From 7 to 35 ‘code reds’ in a year

The number of situations at Hutt Hospital’s maternity unit where health resources are stretched to their limits has increased by 400% in less than a year.

The spike in ‘‘code reds’’ – which means a ward is at capacity due to a lack of available beds or staff – comes as health authorities mull over what to do about the hospital’s quake-prone main building, where the maternity unit, which has for years been plagued by staff shortages, is located.

It’s hoped the reopening of the former privately run Te Awakairangi Birthing Centre as a neonatal unit will take some pressure off the maternity unit.

From January until the end of October, maternity staff triggered 35 code reds. In 2021, just seven code reds were reported. Between 2017 and 2020, there were just six code reds in total.

Officials say a shift from having staff manually record code reds to using a new electronic reporting system may be partly responsible for the increase. However, they acknowledge unplanned sick leave related to Covid-19 and general staff shortages have also contributed to the uptick.

Meanwhile, some in the local community worry that the rising pressure on the maternity unit could have serious consequences for mothers and babies.

Upper Hutt woman Robyn Tyler alleges she was turned away from the Hutt Hospital maternity unit because it was in code red when she arrived in labour with her daughter in November 2020.

In statements it has released about the ordeal, Hutt Valley District Health Board has denied it was aware of any instances of someone in active labour being turned away due to capacity.

‘‘That’s really scary, to know that they are in such dire straits.’’ Robyn Tyler

Two years on, and after at least one debriefing meeting and a lot of written correspondence with the former district health board to discuss what happened to her, Tyler remains concerned that another expectant mother could find herself in a similar situation.

‘‘Even if they can find them a bed, they might not have the staffing to look after them,’’ she said.

After being told the latest figures on code reds, Tyler described the maternity system as ‘‘broken’’.

‘‘That’s really scary, to know that they are in such dire straits . . . I’m just astounded really. That number is massive.’’

Lower Hutt-based National MP Chris Bishop said when wards were stretched to or beyond capacity ‘‘mistakes are made and care is compromised’’.

The simplest and quickest solution to the problem would be for the Government to attract midwives from overseas by giving them an immediate path to permanent residency, rather than requiring them to wait two years, he said.

Hutt South MP Ginny Andersen said it was clear the health system was under pressure – and that was why the Labour Government had made it easier to come to New Zealand to be a nurse, by giving immigrants in the profession a guaranteed pathway to residency, although it still required them to stay for two years.

There was a lot more to do to make up for years of neglect, which included paying nurses and midwives more, she said.

Joy Farley, Te Whatu Ora director of provider services, for Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley District Health Boards, said in a statement that Hutt Hospital’s maternity unit was advertising nationally and internationally for midwives.

It also had incentive schemes in place for midwives and nurses who picked up extra shifts. ‘‘This, together with our escalation and contingency protocols, aims to prevent clinical care from being compromised,’’ Farley said.