Hospitals turn away patients as winter bites

Hospitals around the country are turning away patients in need of non-urgent surgery as medical services struggle to cope with illnesses brought on by the cold winter.

Auckland City Hospital has been on "red alert" for the past two weeks with all available beds in use and a shortage of theatre nurses.

The biting winter has caused its emergency department to treat up to 40 more patients a day than during the same period two years ago.

Wellington Hospital is on "orange alert", one stage before red, and intends today to cancel all elective surgeries requiring an overnight stay because of a lack of beds.

The graduated alert system assesses a hospital's occupancy and staffing levels for the potential to create serious delays in giving treatment. Red indicates most factors are at a critical level.

Auckland City Hospital operations manager Ngaire Buchanan said the cold weather and a high incidence of viral respiratory tract infections was putting additional pressure on beds.

The hospital now has more than 600 beds, while children's hospital Starship has added another 15 beds, taking the tally to 179.

It was trying not to cancel elective surgeries, but some would be rescheduled, she said.

The nurses' union representative at Auckland City, Mark Lennox, said the hospital had a chronic shortage of theatre nurses - a situation made worse by winter sickness and casual staffers opting not to work during the school holidays.

Ms Buchanan said the hospital had recruited nurses from overseas who are awaiting New Zealand registration, and was training more theatre nurses.

A lack of beds is forcing Wellington Hospital to cancel electives which involve overnight stays, although day surgeries will continue.

Capital and Coast district health board spokesman Michael Tull said the hospital has had a higher number of admissions than normal. It cancelled six electives last week as medical patients spilled over into the surgical wards.

Waikato Hospital had its peak of winter illnesses two weeks ago. Spokesman Philip Renner said 16 electives were deferred, and the hospital remained busy.

Rachel Haggerty, Waitemata DHB general manager of adult health services, said North Shore Hospital was coping. "We're a very full hospital, but ... we haven't yet had to cancel elective surgeries, though we have considered it."

Canterbury district health board reported a normal winter season.

Wanganui Hospital is full with some patients having to be kept in the emergency department.

"Winter illnesses are impacting on Wanganui Hospital and placing pressure on resources; the hospital is full," spokeswoman Sue Capenerhurst said yesterday.

The increased workload comes as figures show the three Auckland district health boards performed 1000 less electives for the year to April 2006 than for the corresponding period previously. While Auckland DHB performed 678 more surgeries, Counties Manukau's surgery tallies were down 1326, while Waitemata was down 359.

National health spokesman Tony Ryall said it showed the elective surgery crisis was continuing.

"Despite the Government putting in millions and millions more into hospital district health boards, it looks as though they'll finish the year providing fewer elective services than the year before.

But Health Minister Pete Hodgson said the figures were not the final tallies, and volumes had gone up about 10 per cent once all data was included.