It's all go for busy ED staff

ED department busy over the holiday period, talking to ED staff Jo Wailing, charge nurse, and Dr Norman Grey WAG 26Jan15 - EMERGENCIES ONLY: Emergency department staff Jo Wailling, charge nu

Hospital emergency department staff have been flat out over the current holiday period and on one extremely busy day dealt with one person every 20 minutes.

Charge nurse manager Jo Wailling said the influx of visitors over summer and increase in physical activity created a consistently busy period meaning staff skipped breaks and worked longer.

Clinical leader Norman Gray said while ED was never really quiet, it was particularly busy because the Christmas and New Year public holidays backed on to weekends.

Hospital figures show the number of presentations was on par with the previous holiday season, but jumped up between Christmas and New Year, spiking at 70 on two days.

"The worst day we had was one person every twenty minutes over 24 hours, which is quite a lot for a small hospital," said Dr Gray.

He said people were more conscious about using ED and the number of inappropriate presentations had dropped over the years.

But there was always a percentage that could still be avoided, he said.

"Some of the things from the people out of town would be best dealt with in a general practice.

"Inappropriate presentations take resources away from those truly in need, thereby creating unnecessary delays."

Ms Wailling said there was a mix of injuries, including cuts, knee strains, wasp stings and tramping injuries.

Dr Gray said some people didn't realise there were two doctors and four nurses in ED and most patients took up an hour of a doctor's time.

Waiting times depended on how serious an injury or illness was and sometimes people became frustrated, lashing out at staff.

Ms Wailling said people might see someone else go through before them even though they arrived first.

"There's often frustration around waiting, and it's not unique to here ... these things are about the acuity decision."

Dr Gray said just because there wasn't blood and gore, or screaming, it didn't mean it wasn't busy. "There's a lot of serious stuff happening behind the curtains and in the cubicles, it can be deceptively quiet when there's actually a lot of things happening.

"You don't see how busy it is from the waiting room."

Ms Wailling said staff have been attacked, verbally and physically, and as a result, the hospital and police started a campaign called Your Choice of Treatment.

Police were also on hand at night to support staff.

"We put a screen up to provide protection for the reception staff. They are often the ones facing the crowd so it can be stressful for them.

"If you're frustrated, imagine how frustrating it is for the staff trying to deal with it all."

Ms Wailling said a good network between ambulance staff, other hospitals, police, GPs and other health workers was vital to help take the strain off the emergency department.

Keep ED for emergencies: Anybody can call Healthline on 0800 611 116 or Wairarapa's After Hours Service on weekends and public holidays on 370 0011.