Wellington hospitals put out SOS for nurses
Wellington Hospital and Kenepuru Community Hospital are calling up retired nurses as reinforcements for sick staff.
The two hospitals declared a "Code Red" today. No, it is not war -- it is the winter peak season in the health sector. The hospitals don't have the capacity to meet expected demand.
Capacity is reduced at the two Wellington hospitals because about 20 nurses are sick and demand is up because of winter-related illnesses.
It is not unusual for hospitals to issue a Code Red, but this was the first time the Capital & Coast District Health Board (DHB) had issued one in 2007, said Robyn Toomath, a director of clinical support services at the DHB.
"As of today we are around 20 nurses down compared to our usual staffing levels, primarily due to illness.
"We would be delighted to hear from any qualified nurses in the community who are between jobs, are on extended leave or are semi-retired, who might be able to help fill in, or to do some short term work for us," said Dr Toomath.
They should contact Steve Crew in the Patient Services Coordination Unit.
The hospitals can still cope with urgent cases, but less urgent cases may be in for a longer-than-usual wait. Some elective surgery is also being postponed.
Dr Toomath said the problem was a combination of increased demand for services and decreased availability of staff to meet those demands.
"We have physical beds available, but we can't admit patients unless there are appropriate levels of staff to safely resource those beds."
The message to the public was ` `please save our Emergency Department for emergencies", she said.
Often a general practitioner could offer a quicker consultation without the need to attend hospital.
"We want to be able to focus our Emergency Department resources on patients who genuinely need hospital-level care."
If people had doubts they could call Healthline for free advice from a registered nurse. The Healthline toll-free number is 0800 611-116.
The Capital & Coast District Health Board today issued a "code red" for two Wellington hospitals. Both Wellington Hospital and Kenepuru Community Hospital have a staff shortage of about 20 nurses, and the hospital is calling on any help available.

Dr Robyn Toomath, director of clinical support services at the Health Board, is calling for "any qualified nurses in the community who are between jobs, are on extended leave or are semi-retired, who might be able to help fill in, or to do some short term work for us."

"As of today we are around 20 nurses down compared to our usual staffing levels, primarily due to illness" said Dr Toomath. "We have physical beds available, but we can't admit patients unless there are appropriate levels of staff to safely resource those beds."

The message to the general public was to "please save our Emergency Department for emergencies", she said. "We want to be able to focus our Emergency Department resources on patients who genuinely need hospital-level care."

Any qualified nurses who are willing to help at either of the two hospitals should contact Steve Crew in the Patient Services Coordination Unit, at the Capital and Coast District Health Board.