In a statement, Health New Zealand group director of operations Capital Coast & Hutt Valley, Jamie Duncan, said emergency department escalation and scoring systems helped to identify periods of pressure and guide consistent responses.
“They reflect a highly dynamic environment that can change throughout the day as patient volumes, staffing and bed availability fluctuates,” he said.
“While we acknowledge there is still work to do, Wellington Hospital’s ‘Shorter Stays in ED’ performance is improving, with 2025 year-to-date results around five percentage points higher than 2024, with a clear upward trend since July 2025, increasing from 48.4% in July to 61.0% in December 2025.”
A Wellington Hospital emergency nurse said staffing shortages at the hospital meant patients were receiving sub-optimal care.
“We are trying to run between patients left, right and centre and we are trying to look after more patients then we can at that given moment and that’s when sub-optimal care happens, that’s when mistakes can happen,” he said.
He added that patients were being left in emergency department corridors.
Labour’s Health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said the code-red figures represented a 135% overload.
“Code reds mean staff cannot cope with demand, meaning patients aren’t able to get the care they need when they need it. Patients who don’t stick around are likely to get worse and need more urgent care in the future,” she said.
Health Minister Simeon Brown said Wellington Hospital’s emergency department had unacceptable wait times and was among the lowest-performing in the country.
“Our ED doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers work incredibly hard and are focused on delivering the best possible care for patients, but they need infrastructure that supports them to reduce wait times and improve patient flow,” he said.
The minister said the Wellington ED redevelopment had been prioritised and fully funded through Budget 2025, with work already underway across the hospital campus.
He said the government had also directed Health New Zealand to progress extended hours for urgent and after-hours care in central Wellington, to reduce pressure on the emergency department.
“In the meantime, I have been very clear with Health New Zealand that the current situation at Wellington Hospital’s emergency department is not good enough for patients or staff, and I expect to see improvements.”
The minister pointed to a $20 million funding boost announced in September last year to increase frontline emergency department staffing nationwide over nine months, including additional support for Wellington Hospital.
- RNZ
