To be attributed to Alex Pimm, Group Director of Operations for Te Tai Tokerau | Northland

Whangārei Hospital Emergency Department continues to accept patients and new admissions and any claims otherwise are false and inaccurate.

Providing care to the local community remains our priority and we want to assure the public that anyone who presents to ED and requires hospital-level care will receive it.

To be clear, we never turn people away from EDs in any hospital across New Zealand when they need our care.

EDs are always busy environments, particularly in winter, and Whangārei Hospital is no different. While our ED has been very busy today, the hospital is not “over capacity” and has good flow throughout the patient care pathway. 

Occupancy levels across our hospitals constantly fluctuate – from hour to hour, and even minute to minute – as patients are admitted and discharged.

Media have today reported on Whangārei Hospital reaching Code Black, which is part of the Emergency Department at A Glance (EDAAG) system.

This is one of the internal mechanisms we use within our hospitals to measure occupancy and is about ensuring we appropriately enable patient flow throughout the ED and into the hospital. We would caution interpretation of these measures without the appropriate clinical and operational context.

The Emergency Department at A Glance (EDAAG) system has four escalations (green-amber-red-black), factoring in patient numbers, acuity, patient waiting time, and resus bed capacity. Colour coding systems are blunt tools used in ED, which is a highly dynamic environment, and the status can change back and forth in minutes over the course of a 24-hour period. It is a real time measure. The ED may arbitrarily trigger a particular colour status multiple times in one day as demand and pressures change.

We are indebted to the hard work and dedication of our people – both in ED and throughout the hospital – who strive to ensure that patients are cared for and supported. Health NZ acknowledges the pressures they are currently facing and thanks them profusely for their dedication to their patients at this time.

ENDS