Average wait time getting longer at Whanganui Hospital’s emergency department

Lengthy wait times for Whanganui Hospital's emergency department are being linked to higher patient demand. Photo / Bevan Conley

Emergency department wait times at Whanganui Hospital are increasing, with Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand warning higher patient demand is putting pressure on staff.

When patients arrive at the emergency department, they undergo a triage process to assess the urgency of care required. New Zealand emergency departments follow the Australasian Triage Scale, which categorises the appropriate assessment time for patients.

Data obtained from Te Whatu Ora Whanganui shows in 2021 the average wait time for a potentially serious triage scale four patient was one hour and six minutes.

In the period January to March 2023, this average wait time nearly doubled, increasing to two hours and one minute.

Te Whatu Ora Whanganui interim director Kath Fraser-Chapple said there were many factors that impacted capacity in the emergency department and waiting times.

“It’s not really a quick, simple answer as to why those waiting times have increased,” Fraser-Chapple said.

For a potentially life-threatening triage scale three patient, the wait time had increased from 55 minutes in 2021 to one hour and 27 minutes in 2023.

The Australasian Triage Scale recommends the maximum clinically-appropriate time for triage three patients to be seen is 30 minutes.

Fraser-Chapple said the emergency department at Whanganui Hospital continued to regularly experience high volumes of patients with increasingly complex conditions and acuity.

“Some of it is down to that we have sicker patients who are waiting to be seen at the same time or are in the department at the same time, so that will delay less acute patients.”

Emergency department volumes could be exacerbated by staff absences and high occupancy in Whanganui Hospital.

“We can confirm that our emergency department is currently very busy.”

Fraser-Chapple said the order patients were seen when presenting at the emergency department was based on clinical and acuity need rather than how long they had been waiting.

“We recognise that long wait times can be frustrating, and we sympathise with anyone who may be experiencing distress.”

Fraser-Chapple said there were low numbers of emergency department visits over the long Easter weekend, but on the following Tuesday there was high demand with a lot of patients seeking delayed treatment.

“A lot of it is demand.”

Fraser-Chapple said nationally hospitals were looking to expand access to telehealth services and provide greater after-hours options for people.

Plans for Whanganui Hospital to manage surges in the emergency department included calling in additional staff and making sure patients were flowing through the hospital to receive care in the most appropriate setting.

“We are addressing the pressures on our frontline by focusing on hospital flow, prioritising urgent care and increasing regional co-ordination to deliver health services,” Fraser-Chapple said.