ODHB unable to deliver extra elective surgery

Vivian Blake
Vivian Blake
Dunedin Hospital will not be able to deliver the extra 10% elective surgery being sought by the Ministry of Health as it struggles to meet a backlog of cases following the norovirus outbreak.

Otago District Health Board chief operating officer Vivian Blake told the hospital advisory committee yesterday the hospital was already "on the back foot" over the amount of surgery it could deliver because of delays caused by the norovirus outbreak.

Committee and board chairman Richard Thomson said the matter of the amount of elective surgery the board should do was still a matter of debate.

The board was being told by the Ministry of Health in its district annual plan discussions it could not afford the cost implications of its multimillion-dollar programme to upgrade substandard buildings, but it was being asked to increase elective surgery.

Postponing the building programme would only mean the board would spend more on maintaining buildings, some of which would fail certification.

In these discussions, both parties had to take the long term view, rather than just one year.

There were no simple solutions for either the ministry or the board, Mr Thomson said.

Mrs Blake said she hoped the addition of new anaesthetists to the staff would help with the backlog of surgery patients and that by the end of the year the situation would be clearer.

The hospital might need to keep operating theatres going longer than usual over the Christmas-New Year period, but it was too early to determine that.

Debriefing over the outbreak was continuing and the financial impact would not be known until next month.

Extra costs would include more spending on cleaning, extra hazardous waste disposal expenses because of the norovirus outbreak and more money for the purchase of clothing.

The August financial report showed protective clothing costs were up by $45,000 for the month.

Mr Thomson asked whether Mrs Blake was recommending next month's report come in a plain brown wrapper complete with a health warning.

He praised the efforts of cleaning staff, whose work was often taken for granted as it was not "sexy".

Cleaning was a much more complex task than often realised - people had the notion it involved somebody carrying " a bucket and mop and swishing gaily to and fro".

It was noted that although the cleaning staff were most in contact with norovirus, none of them got sick.

Mr Thomson noted he was getting conflicting advice from members of the public over the cleaning.

Some suggested it would be better if the board had its own cleaning staff and others suggested it should be contracted out.

Hospital cleaning is carried out by outside contractors.

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