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Emergency departments are inundated with non-urgent cases, such as minor injuries, throat infections and even headaches, probably driven by cash-strapped patients seeking free medical care.
Hospitals across the country are experiencing increased demand for emergency services, with some pleading with people to bring non-urgent health problems to GPs or urgent care centers.
Covid-related financial pressure was a likely factor, said Christchurch Hospital physician Scott Pearson.
Others included population growth and the availability of fewer GP appointments as a result of measures to manage potential Covid-19 infections.
There was an increase from 30 to 40 people per day in the Christchurch Hospital emergency department over the past six weeks, bringing the weekly total to 375 people, Pearson said.
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The increase of about 15 percent began before the emergency department moved to a new Christchurch Hospital building in Waipapa on November 18 and has not stopped since.
The Manukau County Board of Health issued a press release on December 14 asking that people not seek help from the Middlemore Hospital Emergency Department for medical problems that are not urgent.
“By taking these steps, people will be supporting our ER staff by allowing them to focus their time and resources on patients with life-threatening emergencies,” said ED Clinical Director Dr. Vanessa Thornton.
Earlier this month Stuff reported that Northland DHB was setting up a 12-bed evaluation unit at Whangārei Hospital to cope with the high demand.
Stephen Forbes / Stuff
The Manukau County Board of Health issued a press release on Dec. 14 asking people not to seek help from the Middlemore Hospital emergency department for non-urgent medical problems.
Pearson said emergency services had to prioritize care for people with more urgent conditions, and this meant those with minor conditions waited up to six hours.
Examples of non-urgent conditions were minor injuries without a significant injury, throat infections, abdominal pain, headaches, vomiting or diarrhea – all things that a GP or urgent care staff could easily handle, he said.
It was difficult to know what proportion of people in the ED were there due to financial considerations, but staff were aware that this was the case for some, Pearson said.
“That is why we do not reject people, because for a certain proportion of the population we know that we are the only access to medical care they can have.”
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Christchurch Hospital emergency room physician Scott Pearson says ERs across the country are seeing increased demand, even from people with non-urgent conditions.
He encouraged those who could afford it to consider going to their GP or urgent care center, but acknowledged the high fees charged for private services after hours.
The Christchurch Hospital Department of Education had not hired more staff to meet the increased demand due to “fiscal constraints,” Pearson said.
The emergency department staff were not in the best position to attend to non-urgent health needs, he said.
“Our core business is serving patients in a health crisis who really need our help urgently, so we don’t have the staff to care for people with non-urgent conditions.
“A good GP can manage things much more effectively.”
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Personnel in the work area in the Palmerston North Hospital emergency department.
Some patients who had waited a long time were expressing their frustration to staff in a “courteous and not so polite way,” Pearson said.
Another possible driver of the increase in Christchurch ED was related to the new facilities.
“Based on the Australasian experience, when a city builds a new emergency department, there tends to be a 10-15 percent increase in numbers … kind of like an open house.”
Canterbury has a DE for a population of approximately 580,000, with a growth of 70,000 people in the last seven years.
Pearson said that while another Covid outbreak was possible, GPs had fewer spaces for appointments, to allow time, if necessary, for infection control procedures, such as the need to isolate a patient and put on equipment. personal protection.
Options in Canterbury for after-hours care include a 24-hour medical center and extended-hour medical centers: Moorhouse Medical and Riccarton Clinic.
Rates for appointments after 6:00 p.m. M. Or weekends at these three facilities for adult Community Services Card holders range from $ 63 to $ 79.50.
Pearson said more low-cost primary care, such as a new Whānau Ora Clinic in Aranui, which provides care to registered whānau for $ 2 a week, was urgently needed to ease pressure on the emergency department.
