Hospital staff acknowledged "the additional stress this may place on families, but in situations where local residential care beds are full, the only option is placement in other available locations," a press release issued by the hospital on Friday said.
"If people are assessed as requiring residential care, information on the currently available beds will be provided, and family will need to decide and make arrangements with the facility of their choice within 48 hours of being advised that a patient is ready for discharge from hospital," the release states.
"Oamaru Hospital is an acute facility and is not able to keep patients until a residential bed becomes available in the local area, as this causes bed blockages, which means patients who require urgent medical attention may not be able to be admitted to the ward. The ward has been closed to new admissions a number of times in recent months due to the limited number of beds, and it is important that those who are requiring medical treatment are able to access it."
The hospital’s director of nursing and community services, Colleen Moore, confirmed people were having to go out of town to find residential care beds as all six facilities in Oamaru were at capacity.
"People think we’ll keep them in hospital until a bed is ready [but] we can’t do that," she said.
"The family are being told that your relative is ready for discharge from hospital but requires residential care, or hospital-level care, or dementia care ... you are going to have to find somewhere for them."
She said it was the first time the community had faced the issue.
The 41-bed Observatory Retirement Village, expected to open in August, might not alleviate the pressure on residential bed numbers, Observatory Village Trust chairman Ken Scott said.
Another rest-home, Rendell on Reed, is expected to close in August and the new retirement village was expected to be a popular choice for residents.
"We’ll just have to face it when it arises," Mr Scott said.
"But these figures are never stable."
Nevertheless, the retirement village was created "because we saw there was a need for what we are doing". Reed Street Healthcare manager Rosie Dwyer confirmed Rendell on Reed was not taking admissions at present. Iona Enliven Care Home manager Stephanie Leith said the 79-bed facility had been full for the past four weeks.
