What's being done about North Shore Hospital

Waitemata District Health Board chief executive Dave Davies. Photo / Kenny Rodger

North Shore Hospital managers cannot explain why Leanna Kairua and her daughter Veronica may have endured and witnessed the things they did, but every aspect of their story is being looked into, says Waitemata District Health Board chief executive Dave Davies.

Until the review is complete, however, he won't comment specifically on Veronica's care, allegations of offhand doctors and poor response times by nurses, or many of the other matters her mother raised.

Davies will talk about wider issues, though, and says many of the problems North Shore Hospital has been burdened with in past years - such as over-crowding and staff shortages - are being addressed. Extra beds are on the way and a $48 million new Emergency Department is under construction.

The Waitemata DHB is the biggest in the country, serving the fast-growing populations of North Shore City, Waitakere City and Rodney District with two hospitals, the smaller Waitakere Hospital and North Shore Hospital.

The occupancy rate at North Shore is generally around 90 per cent, which means as one patient is discharged the bed is made ready for the next. Davies says in the last few years Waitemata has moved from one of the worst-funded health boards to one of the best and much is happening - since 2007, 60 additional beds have been added and a further 24 beds were opened this winter.

In October next year there will be an additional 32 acute assessment beds, and approval has been given for an extra 10 surgical beds to be opened next March.

Increases beyond 2011 are subject to business cases which are under development, but planning for 40 surgical beds as part of a new Elective Surgery Unit at North Shore Hospital is under way. As well as the new ED, construction has begun on a $9.2 million renal unit, and staff numbers and retention is also up.

So why, with all this good news, could Veronica's care, only last month, have been so woeful - at least according to her mother?

Davies, again, won't comment on the case, but he does say the hospital, along with others, has had to cope with an unexpected 20 per cent jump in the number of patients turning up to emergency departments over the past year.

There appears to be no one cause for the increase, but it is linked to our growing and ageing population, the fact people are sicker in winter and ailments such as swine flu. "But we've got a solution for it," says Davies. "We've got not just plans in place, we've got buildings being built."