A long-awaited expansion of Nelson Hospital’s emergency department has been opened today, but the head of the department says unless more staff are hired soon, they won’t be able to use the extra capacity.
The ED expansion includes six new beds and consultation space and while the largest section was opened today by Health Minister Simeon Brown, it wouldn’t be fully operational until April.
Head of the ED Dr Harriet Harper says it will increase capacity from 23 beds to 29.
“We’ll have a bit more wiggle room to do our core emergency work rather than having to see people in the waiting room or in the car park or whatever we end up doing sometimes,” she said.
Harper says staffing has been an ongoing discussion with a business case submitted for extra nurses and allied health specialists among others.
She says for the new beds to be utilised, the staff need to be in place by April.
“It’s generally felt that we would not be able to open up those beds [unless that happens]. It’s been quite challenging discussions but yeah. I’m an optimist so rather than talking about the what ifs, I’ve got my fingers firmly crossed.”
The biggest issue for Nelson Hospital ED is bed block, where patients are stuck in the department as a ward bed is not available.
Harper says the expansion will help address that.
“It’s not necessarily to do emergency work. It’s really to cope with the extra work we have when people can’t move to the wards.”
Brown says the ED expansion is an important piece of the puzzle to getting patients treated quickly.
“So, there’s a lot of work needed and there’s a lot of work underway and that’s why this Government announced in the budget the major new inpatient bed unit as well which is about the future as well as what we’re doing today,” he said.
It comes after a series of stories by 1News where senior doctors raised concerns about the impact low staffing was having on patients, sparking a scathing review.
1News got an exclusive look into their heavy workload and limited resources. (Source: 1News)
The review found significant staffing issues at the hospital, as well as issues with culture and the leadership structure.
Nelson Hospital’s leadership has changed in recent months, with Health NZ’s South Island boss Martin Keogh stepping down and Nelson Hospital boss Lexie O’Shea being seconded to a new role.
1News understands that shortly before O’Shea’s move was announced, senior doctors backed a vote of no confidence in her.
Keogh’s replacement, Dr Pete Watson, acknowledges it’s been a difficult time at the hospital.
“I think what we’re seeing today and what we’ve seen in the last month or two is the start of a change to actually resource the hospital for what it needs, to recognise the problems and respond to them,” he said.
Twelve new junior doctor roles have been announced, and three new senior doctors are on their way too, though Watson promises there are more to come.
“We’re working through appointment to new roles as we’re able to, so there are a number of different areas where we’ve got pressure and we will continue to recruit into those roles.”
