Two Southland Hospital nurses have been transferred to Dunedin Hospital this week on a temporary basis to help alleviate a nursing shortage.
Under pressure from a higher-than-expected patient load, Dunedin Hospital nursing reached "crisis" point last week, according to New Zealand Nurses' Organisation associate industrial services manager Glenda Alexander.
Exacerbating the situation was a lack of casual nurses in the city to call upon for short-term work.
Chief nursing and midwifery officer Leanne Samuel, through a spokeswoman, said the two nurses would work in surgical wards.
"We will continue to monitor the need for additional staff at Dunedin Hospital, as well as staffing capacity at Southland Hospital."
The Southern District Health Board denies nursing staffing is in crisis, but said yesterday patient demand in Dunedin remained high.
"Capacity at Dunedin Hospital continues to be pressured, but there are sufficient acute beds," Ms Samuel said.
The hospital was ensuring patients were transferred to their home hospitals whenever possible to relieve pressure, she said.
A request to interview a Southland nurse was declined.
Last week, the DHB reminded staff not to speak to the media, after general surgery ward nurse Helen Adair went public with her concerns about a Dunedin Hospital ward, which she said was understaffed.
