Health the priority in wake of earthquake

Photo / Greg Bowker

All earthquake-damaged Christchurch rest homes have now been evacuated, with 187 residents shipped to other facilities around New Zealand.

The evacuations have overwhelmed capacity in South Island rest homes, with any future evacuees likely to be sent to facilities in the North Island.

Moving the vulnerable and elderly residents was a priority as they could have faced poor sanitation conditions in their damaged homes, a Canterbury DHB spokeswoman said.

Health Board chief executive David Meates this morning said no evacuations were carried out that weren't necessary.

"We don't want to be dislocating very fragile, very vulnerable elderly people to other centres unnecessarily."

More than 600 patients have been admitted to Christchurch Hospital Emergency Department since the earthquake, including 164 with serious injuries.

However, an outbreak of disease expected predicted to hit the city in the wake of Tuesday's earthquake has not arrived, a DHB spokeswoman said.

A stream of official warnings to boil drinking water are helping prevent disease breaking out in the city, she said.

An Australian army field hospital was opened as community health centre in Aranui today as a further prevention measure against disease.

The 75-bed centre near Cowles Stadium will provide primary care, obstetrics and general emergency medicine. It will be open from 8am to 8pm every day.

However, maternity services have been under stress after Tuesday's earthquake.

Canterbury DHB has put out an appeal for midwives to help with care. A spokeswoman said the assistance is needed as clinicians work to cope in the wake of the earthquake.

Mental health has also been an issue as anxious Christchurch residents deal with the scars left by the earthquake and the constant stream of aftershocks in its wake.

The Ferry Road Medical Centre in Phillipstown has been helping patients being admitted with shock and anxiety.

Dr Les Toot said the level of distress from Tuesday's aftershock was much greater than after the original 7.1 magnitude earthquake in September.

"We have been through this twice now, but the level of distress and destruction this time is another order of magnitude.

"We had walking wounded coming in initially on Tuesday - people with cuts, minor injuries and things like that. We are starting to get more people with shock coming in and I expect that to increase."

Medical supplies are a challenge in the quake-ravaged city, with pharmacies starting to run out of medication.

The warehouse of one Christchurch medicine supplier had not yet reopened since the quake while the other was only able to provide limited services, community pharmacist Jacqui Lawson told New Zealand Doctor magazine.

Of more than 120 pharmacies throughout Christchurch, 80 are now open.