Whangārei Hospital's emergency department is at capacity, seeing as many as 160 people a day and 43,000 a year. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Whangārei Hospital's emergency department is at capacity, seeing as many as 160 people a day and 43,000 a year. Photo / Michael Cunningham
With the Northland District Health Board warning of an overrun emergency department at Whangārei Hospital, the question stands out- when should you go to ED?
Northland District Health Board's Facebook page recently posted an image stating, 'Whangārei Hospital is extremely busy. Please leave [the emergency department] for emergencies only."
Itthen stated where people could receive healthcare depending on the severity of their condition. Under self-care, the post advised calling Healthline. Under routine care, the post advised visiting a GP, Māori health provider or pharmacist.
Under urgent care, the post advised people to head to an urgent-care (after hours) medical centre.
The Northland DHB is advising people to consider how serious their condition is before coming to the emergency department. Photo / Supplied
At a DHB board meeting in August, chief executive Dr Nick Chamberlain said the target of 95 per cent of patients leaving the region's hospitals' emergency departments within six hours would not be met until a new hospital was built to replace the current one.
The current percentage of patients staying in ED for less than six hours was between 81-86 per cent.
Annually, Whangārei ED saw about 43,000 people with some days seeing more than 160 patients. Wait times ranged from one hour to over 14 hours.
ED service manager Barbara Miller, who has worked at the NDHB for about 20 years, recognised the stress ED's current state put on both patients and staff.
"In Whangārei, it is a very busy place, it's exceptionally demanding," she said.
"Often ED demand exceeds capacity ... and that means there are no spaces available and patients are waiting."
In ED, patients were seen to by medical officials based on their need. Therefore, people in ED with less urgent concerns often experienced long wait times, especially if there was an influx of patients with critical care needs.
Northland District Health Board emergency department service manager Barbara Miller. Photo / Supplied
While she reinforced that ED would never turn anyone in need of care away, Miller said people who required "emergency care" should go to ED immediately, while those who required "urgent care" should consult other options such as Healthline or primary care providers.
Miller said emergency care conditions included chest pain or tightness felt in the arm, jaw or neck; difficulty in breathing; choking; fainting; severe pain; severe consistent bleeding; dislocated or broken bones; and significant trauma.
She said conditions often presented at ED that could be dealt with by primary care providers included diarrhoea, vomiting, headaches, bruising, strains, cuts, persistent rashes, bladder infections and constipation.
Miller recommended that people become familiar with Healthline's contact information (0800 611 116) as it was a suitable first port of call if someone was not sure where they should go for healthcare.
"I think often we are just not sure about what is the most appropriate place and so Healthline can certainly offer some advice for that," she said.
For minor health concerns, Miller said general practices and Māori health providers were often the best option, given their usually longstanding relationships with patients.
However, Miller acknowledged the difficulty people often faced trying to book a timely GP appointment and urged people not to avoid ED if they had no other options.
"We do empathise with people and we don't turn anyone away," she said.
"We want to help people access the right care, at the right time, in the right place."
