Figures released by the Labour Party showed that between August 8 and 23, the Dunedin hospital admitted, discharged and transferred patients within less than six hours between 35% and 48% of the time.
The national average was about 70%, while the Southern health district fluctuated around 70%-73% for the same period.
Former Dunedin ED head Dr John Chambers said the results were "grim", especially considering the hospital was one of the better-performing EDs about a decade ago.
"You would have thought that having a government target and the minister saying he wanted it sorted out, that they’d be on to it.
"When Tony Ryall was the minister, he put the thumbscrews on to get the ED targets better."
A lack of accountability was part of the issue, he said.
"If there were local governance and local managers who were accountable, then the pressure would be on."
There did not appear to be any signs of improvement, Dr Chambers said.
"If we thought we had a robust system of governance cascading down through the country and with an emphasis on improving things for patients, that would be reassuring.
"But what we have is this slightly mysterious and dysfunctional governance and leadership team, and evidence that performance is not getting better."
The figures were troubling, especially considering what they ignored, Dr Chambers said.
"There’s a whole lot of people who are hanging around in the emergency department awaiting treatment [that would be disturbing others]; 60% of the patients are hanging around in the emergency department for more than six hours."
Labour health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall said the government was running out of time to achieve its health targets.
"Emergency departments won’t improve until people can get affordable care in their community. Under this government, the price of going to a GP is approaching $100.
"Emergency department wait times are a symptom of this government’s cost cutting."
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) Southern interim group director of operations Craig Ashton said performance could fluctuate throughout the week and varied seasonally, so Labour’s weekly data for August "should not be considered a definitive measure of performance or relied upon as fact".
"Our staff are committed to reducing wait times and ensuring we remain focused on improving access and health outcomes for our communities.
"We want to assure patients who need urgent hospital care that it will be available, while those seeking non-urgent care should expect longer wait times in EDs at present."
A spokeswoman for Acting Health Minister Matt Doocey said Labour’s figures were non-validated operational data.
"The reliable measure is Health New Zealand’s validated quarterly results, with the 2024-25 milestone data due for release soon."
The HNZ data showed nationwide 74% of patients were seen within six hours for quarter three 2024-25 — compared to 70% in quarter three 2023-24.
For the Southern area, the processing rate was 75%. The Otago Daily Times has made an Official Information Act request for Dunedin Hospital’s ED performance.
Mr Doocey said ED performance was still not where the government wanted it to be.
"The government has made it clear to Health New Zealand that performance must improve, and reinstating the shorter stays in ED target is key to that — to refocus the system on delivery and restore the accountability lost under Labour."
