Te Whatu Ora Waitaha group director of operations Jo Gibbs said more than 100 people were being cared for in the ED at 9.15pm on Tuesday.
“There is no single reason for high numbers of patients attending at present, but we are currently seeing patients with a range of complex conditions.”
Gibbs said from midnight Monday to midnight Tuesday the ED saw 357 patients.
“The usual number of attendances is between 330 and 370 people every day," Gibbs said.
"What made yesterday and last night particularly challenging was the large number of very unwell patients all requiring care at the same time.
"At its peak there were 124 people in the department. It dropped to 107 between 9 and 10pm and 87 at midnight and that is still a large number of unwell people to be looked after.
"The usual number of patients at midnight is 40-60."
At 8.30am on Wednesday, 34 patients were in the ED.
"Last night the admission rate was 32 per cent - which means almost a third of all people coming to ED were so sick that they needed to be admitted to hospital," Gibbs said.
"There was no particular cause or common reasons for admissions or the high acuity - the only trend yesterday and last night was that there were a lot of medical, rather than surgical admissions.
"We’d like to thank everyone for their patience, as some people had to wait longer than we would like.
"Our admission rate has reduced slightly to 30 per cent this morning, however, the wider hospital is still very busy at 104 per cent occupancy.
"Despite the busyness, we are here for anyone who needs emergency care, and people shouldn’t hesitate to call 111 if it’s an emergency.
Gibbs said hospital staff "coped admirably" with the unexpected high number of patients. She also thanked people who sought alternative care and health advice, other than the ED.
"There are a range of options available to people, and we are grateful when people choose well, and utilise one of the many options available after hours where this is appropriate and convenient for them."
Gibbs said Christchurch's ED is one of the busiest in New Zealand. It can see up to 430 people over 24-hours at its peak.
"To have more than 100 people being looked after at this time is a large number of unwell people to assess and care for.”
If it is not an emergency, Gibbs encouraged patients to seek alternative health advice - or they may be in for a long wait at ED.
“Free health advice is available from a range of providers, including free health advice over the phone by calling Healthline on 0800 611 116 – they are available 24/7 or consider a virtual telehealth consultation with a registered New Zealand health practitioner for non-urgent health issues.”
Anyone experiencing a medical emergency should always call 111 immediately.
The options for patients with non-urgent health issues are:
- Minor injuries and illnesses like colds, coughs, fevers and mild Covid-19 can be treated safely at home. Check out the free advice available on Healthify in the Health A to Z https://healthify.nz/health-a-z/
- You can visit https://yourbestcare.co.nz/ to learn more about the healthcare choices available
- Consider a virtual appointment with a NZ-registered Doctor who can give advice and prescriptions etc online via phone, laptop or other device, from the comfort of your own home (https://healthify.nz/apps/v/virtual-consult-apps/)
- Your local pharmacy can advise on over-the-counter medications and treatments including pain management.
- Many GPs can issue repeat prescriptions over the phone or online
- If you have a sprain or injury, you can go straight to a physio without a referral – they can register an ACC claim, and organise X-rays and specialist referrals.
