Wards jammed by flu victims

By MONIQUE DEVEREUX HEALTH REPORTER

A flu outbreak sweeping the country is putting severe strain on the public hospital system.

Wards are full, patients are sleeping in corridors and three major hospitals have called off operations.

One of the country's top virologists, Dr Lance Jennings of Canterbury Health, said that in the past week the number of reported flu cases around the country had doubled.

Around 100 out of every 100,000 New Zealanders - roughly 4000 people - have reported the flu.

Dr Jennings said the rapid increase was an indication of higher rates to come.

Overcrowding in wards has prompted hospitals to urge people suffering from flu symptoms to see their GPs first.

Auckland, Middlemore and Waikato Hospitals all put off some operations yesterday because they did not have enough beds. More operations are expected to be called off today.

It is the second time in as many weeks that surgery has been interrupted at Middlemore, and Waikato has been forced to reduce surgery lists to free staff and bed space for several days.

Auckland Hospital staff are desperately juggling beds to ensure mastectomy operations - removing breasts from women with cancer - are cancelled only as a last resort.

Yesterday, Middlemore telephoned 15 people and told them their non-urgent surgery would not go ahead. Auckland cancelled 10 operations, and at Waikato up to four of the 60 daily procedures are being cancelled.

The operations, which range from hernia repair to minor plastic surgery, will be rescheduled.

The problem is being caused by a high number of flu patients taking up beds and staff being off sick.

Hospitals throughout the country are facing similar problems, with hundreds of people pouring into emergency departments.

At North Shore Hospital yesterday afternoon, some people were waiting in the foyer because they could not fit into the emergency waiting room. Some patients are waiting more than 24 hours for a bed in a ward after assessment in the acute assessment unit.

By 5.30 pm yesterday one of Auckland Hospital's less urgent patients had waited 47 hours for a bed.

But hospital staff say many patients are waiting for needlessly long times and would receive the same treatment a lot quicker from their own GPs. Many either did not realise they could get the treatment from a GP or were choosing to wait longer for hospital treatment because they would not have to pay.

Middlemore's chief operating officer, Brian Rousseau, agreed that the reason behind the surge in emergency room attendances could be partly economic.

"We do provide a free service in emergency. People need to be aware that if they have to come in for less urgent illness, they may well have to wait a long time."

It is the same in Rotorua, Tauranga and Whangarei, and the majority of less urgent cases involve influenza.

Three strains are in circulation, influenza B and the New Caledonia-like and Moscow-like viruses.

In Auckland the majority of cases are the New Caledonia-like strain. The more serious Moscow-like virus is appearing more frequently in the South Island.

Dr Jennings said this virus had more often contributed to influenza deaths as a secondary complication in other illnesses, especially in elderly patients.

But he said all of the strains could be treated easily, or at least greatly alleviated, by specific prescription drugs available from GPs.

Waikato's emergency department last month treated the highest number of patients ever - almost 4000.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has launched a recruitment drive in London in an attempt to lure travelling Kiwi nurses home and British nurses to a better lifestyle.

There are at present around 2000 nursing shortages in New Zealand hospitals, and this, say some hospital administrators, is exacerbating the patient overload.