Podcasts about Middlemore Hospital

An assault, an arrest and anti-social behaviour by fans has marred Auckland FC's latest A-League football match at Mt Smart Stadium. Police say an Australian national was taken to Middlemore Hospital and underwent surgery for facial injuries sustained in an assault. A 46-year-old man was arrested at the stadium over the incident. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen.

Do antihistamines help with the itch of dermatitis?   Check out the paper mentioned Nankervis H, Thomas KS, Delamere FM, Barbarot S, Rogers NK, Williams HC. Scoping systematic review of treatments for eczema. Southampton (UK): NIHR Journals Library; 2016 May. PMID: 27280278. Check out the Dermnet NZ page. Authors: Dr Amy Stanway, Department of Dermatology, Waikato Hospital, Hamilton, New Zealand, February 2004; Updated: Honorary Associate Professor Paul Jarrett, Dermatologist, Middlemore Hospital and Department of Medicine, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, February 2021. Minor internal update May 2023.   www.rnzcuc.org.nz podcast@rnzcuc.org.nz https://www.facebook.com/rnzcuc https://twitter.com/rnzcuc   Music licensed from www.premiumbeat.com Full Grip by Score Squad   This podcast is intended to assist in ongoing medical education and peer discussion for qualified health professionals.  Please ensure you work within your scope of practice at all times.  For personal medical advice always consult your usual doctor 

Te Whatu Ora Counties Manukau is dispelling worry over Middlemore Hospital's crowded emergency department. It yesterday treated more than 200 patients, and at one point over 70 people were waiting for beds. But Hospital and Specialist Services interim lead Vanessa Thornton says that's not unusual. "We've been very busy like this through the whole of winter, so this is not a new number for us. It's high, but it's not something that we can't manage." Thornton says processes are in place to deal with high demand. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three gunmen are on the run following separate shootings in the past week. Police are hunting 24-year-old Dariush Talagi, after two people were shot on Queen Street in Central Auckland on Thursday night. Auckland police have also launched a homicide investigation, after a man was shot at Taurima Reserve in Point England on Saturday. Another person later showed up at Middlemore Hospital with a gunshot wound, and police are looking at whether the cases are linked. ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says the uptick in shootings is unbelievable, and more Kiwis have good reason to be worried. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just five years after opening, Māngere's Nga Hau Birthing Centre could be closed due to a lack of funds. The prospect has led more than 5000 concerned mothers-to-be and women who have given birth there to petition the government and Te Whatu Ora to help step in. The primary birthing unit has been funded by the Wright Foundation up until now, but the charity now says it needs public funding to keep it open. The majority of women giving birth there are Maori or Pasifika, and the petition highlights the important role the centre plays in the community. Te Whatu Ora says there are three other birthing units accessible to those in the region, as well as Middlemore Hospital. Kathryn speaks with Rebecca Kingi who recently gave birth there who says it's the only local unit and is desperately needed.

A man who pretended to be a doctor at Middlemore Hospital has been sentenced to three and a half years in jail. 30-year-old Yuvaraj Krishnan pleaded guilty to a series of fraud charges. He faked a practicing certificate and CV to get a job working with respiratory patients during the pandemic. Our health correspondent Rowan Quinn joins Lisa Owen with the details.  

It's Ramere, Friday April the 28th Today on RNZ National... Retired senior US military officers have been landing high-paying government jobs here with our spy agency. Middlemore Hospital promises it's harder for anyone to fake their way into a job there now, as a man who posed as a doctor begins a three and a half year prison sentence Despite Chris Hipkins' promise of a no-frills Budget, businesses still have a lot on their wishlist National says it will repeal two of the Government's rental laws if they're elected And the Black Caps are on the back foot in their first one-dayer in Pakistan

Middlemore Hospital is promising it will be much harder for anyone to fake their way into a medical role, after a bogus doctor saw 80 patients. 31 year-old Yuvaraj Krishnan is starting a prison sentence of three-and-a-half years for tricking his way into a doctor's job on the respiratory team at the height of the first national Covid outbreak. Krishnan was not successful when applying for other medical jobs, but used Google to learn certain procedures in case. Health Correspondent Rowan Quinn reports.

The wife of Blue Ferry skipper Bill Elliot has spoken for the first time as the wider family gathers at his bedside. The 77 year old was airlifted from Paihia to Auckland's Middlemore Hospital and has undergone surgery to critical injuries this afternoon. Lois Elliot says she and her husband have run the Blue Ferry business since 1999. She says he is an experienced, vigilant skipper who had never been involved in an accident before. She spoke exclusively to reporter Jordan Dunn and told him news of the accident came as a terrible shock.  

Bay of Islands locals are calling for harsher penalties for recreational boaties, after witnesses described the launch involved in yesterday's collision with the Paihia-Russell ferry travelling at high speed, with nobody visible at the wheel. The 77-year-old skipper of the Blue Ferry is in Middlemore Hospital after suffering critical injuries. One of the first responders was skipper of the Happy Ferry Captain Jeff Crooks. He described the scene as a "bombsite." Checkpoint's Tom Taylor and Nick Monro have the story.

Accident investigators are appealing for witnesses to the collision between a ferry and a motor boat yesterday in the Bay of Islands. The Commission is investigating the incident which seriously injured the skipper, Bill Elliot who is in a critical condition in Middlemore Hospital. The collision happened around midday as the ferry headed out of Russell en route to Paihia. Transport Accident Investigation Commission chief investigator Naveen Kozhuppakalam spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

A Northland ferry skipper is in a critical condition in Middlemore Hospital after a collision between the Paihia to Russell ferry and a boat yesterday. The incident happened just before midday as the 50-year-old ferry headed out of Russell on its run to Paihia.  The collision shattered the ferry's portside and wheelhouse, leaving the skipper, Bill Elliot with suspected head and spinal injuries. Among those who came to his aid was a parasailing boat from Flying Kiwi Parasail. Rich de Rosa is the skipper and owner. He spoke to Corin Dann.   

The family of a man with an intellectual disability say he has been neglected while waiting six months in hospital for a hip operation, and they fear he may even die there. Pukekohe man Arthur Brown, 58, was admitted to Middlemore Hospital in October, but his hip replacement surgery was delayed after he showed signs of an infection. The operation has not gone ahead since then. However, Mr Brown has remained in hospital the whole time, and his family says he is now bedridden, with his health gettting worse. Meanwhile, the family says, various agencies are disputing who is responsible for funding Mr Brown's ongoing care and recovery support. Arthur Brown's sister Fiona Brown says her brother is suffering.

In this episode, Troy interviews Dr. Lee Mathias, shareholder/director at Tend and Pictor. She's based in Auckland, New Zealand. Dr. Lee has an illustrious career, she served as a Principal Nurse at Middlemore Hospital, and she was a critical figure in the transformational changes to primary maternity services as the founder of Birthcare, now she is continuing her career as an entrepreneur by being a director at Pictor, an in-vitro diagnostics company that is still running strong after 13 years. After seven years as a Principal Nurse, she took her MBA in ‘85 to ‘87' an academic degree that she used to its full extent to manage multiple companies. Keeping Pictor afloat by valiantly finding ways to fund the business, such as various public sector funding sources, angel investors, series fundings, etc., whilst generating revenue to compensate for burning $700,000 a month. Apart from all the things that Dr. Lee loves about growing a business, the one thing that she doesn't is funding. Dr. Lee heavily emphasized the fact that when developing a business, “you need to have a pretty good idea where your money is going to come from.” to plan, determine how much money you have available to invest in new projects, hire employees, or expand operations. This Cast Covers:  The remarkable accomplishments of Dr. Lee Mathias throughout her career. Various public healthcare services. Developing your brand through transparency and empirical evidence. Exhausting every possible way to raise funds. The difficulty of running out of money in a business. Getting people to understand exactly what the product you're selling is. Always having a process and method for your business. Celebrating achievements to build a sustainable culture. Heavily investing in your professional and personal development. Making sure to have the best hardware you can afford. Links:  Dr. Lee's Linkedin Pictordx Tend Health Ltd Additional Resources: Porter's Five Forces: Understand Competitive Forces and Stay Ahead of the Competition (Management & Marketing) by 50MINUTES Reinventing American Health Care by Ezekiel J. Emanuel The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done (Harperbusiness Essentials) by Peter F. Drucker     Quotes: “If you have the entrepreneurial spirit, do not try, do not ever think, don't contemplate that you're going to deal with a large public company.” — Lee Mathias. “It's important for anybody in small business to think about their education.” — Lee Mathias. “You need your specialists and don't try and do everything yourself.” — Lee Mathias. “You need to have a pretty good idea about where your money is going to come from because you can't live on silverbeet forever.” — Lee Mathias. “The other thing you'd have to do is to keep reading.” — Lee Mathias.

Dr. Carl Horsley is an Intensive Care specialist at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, having previously completed training in Emergency Medicine. He also is the Clinical Lead for System Safety at the Health Quality & Safety Commission, with a focus on understanding the way in which the wider healthcare system shapes the conditions in which care is provided.He has recently completed an MSc in Human Factors and System Safety at Lund University, Sweden and is part of the Resilient Healthcare Society, an international collaboration of researchers, clinicians and safety scientists. His current focus is on how to bring together Te Ao Māori and modern safety science to create a system that supports good care at all levels.In this episode, we discuss his shift from training in emergency medicine to intensive care, his work in human factors and system safety and what the practical implementation of this looks like, creating psychologically safe workplaces, the three phases experienced by doctors when causing harm/adverse events, and advice for prospective ICU applicants. Support the showAs always, if you have any feedback or queries, or if you would like to get in touch with the speaker, feel free to get in touch at doctornos@pm.me. Audio credit:Bliss by Luke Bergs https://soundcloud.com/bergscloudCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/33DJFs9Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/e9aXhBQDT9Y

National's health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti says thousands of people are leaving emergency departments every month rather than wait. Wait times are under the spotlight again after a woman died in June hours after leaving Middlemore Hospital rather than face a huge wait. An independent review found the hospitals emergency department was "dysfunctional, overcrowded and unsafe" and only seeing half of its patients within six hours. Health Minister Andrew Little said no major metropolitian hospitals were meeting their ED wait time targets. National's health spokeperson Shane Reti has been speaking about the problems in parliament and joins Rowan Quinn. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6313978656112

Tuva'a has his weekly catch-up with Andrew Little. this week, they discuss the state of Middlemore Hospital, and how reforms may help overcrowding.

GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's statements and actions? ANNA LORCK to the Minister of Housing: What actions has the Government taken to address the shortage of housing in Hastings? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: When was inflation last in the Reserve Bank's 1-3 percent target range, and when does he expect inflation to return to below 3 percent? RAWIRI WAITITI to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in all her Ministers? RACHEL BROOKING to the Minister of Conservation: How has Jobs for Nature supported employment opportunities and conservation efforts across the country? NICOLE McKEE to the Minister of Justice: How much in financial reparations is currently outstanding to victims of crime, and what is the lowest amount being paid by instalment to a victim? Dr SHANE RETI to the Minister of Health: What concerns does he have in Middlemore Hospital's ability to provide health care, following the recent independent report which found the hospital's emergency department was "unsafe, dysfunctional and overcrowded", and reports that senior doctors have requested that the Royal Australasian College of Physicians consider revoking Middlemore Hospital's General Medicine training accreditation? ARENA WILLIAMS to the Minister for Maori Development: How has the Government supported Maori into employment and training? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister of Justice: Does she have confidence in the Government's approach to regulating the use and supply of all drugs, including alcohol? RACHEL BOYACK to the Minister for Emergency Management: What recent reports has he received on the preparedness of New Zealanders for an emergency? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: How much money has been paid out from the Retail Crime Prevention Programme to date, and how many businesses have had protective equipment installed since the fund was established in May this year?

No big city hospitals are meeting their target for treating emergency department patients within six hours.   A report into Middlemore Hospital described the emergency department as "dysfunctional, overcrowded and unsafe".  The report looked into the circumstances of a woman who left the overcrowded ED without being seen, and later died of a brain hemorrhage. Chair of the College of Emergency Medicine Kate Allan told Checkpoint the issues at Middlemore are being seen at other hospitals too. Health Minister Andrew Little said there is a lot of stress on the system.   

Doctors say the Government is trying to put a gloss on a dire situation. A damning review into Middlemore Hospital has found its ED is dysfunctional and overcrowded, with senior doctors calling for a trainee teaching programme to be scrapped due to unsafe conditions. Health Minister Andrew Little says it's been a difficult winter and immigration settings will help solve it. But Resident Doctors' Association National President Deborah Powell told Mike Hosking immigration won't fix things. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Middlemore hospital has been undergoing a wait time crisis, with people being unable to receive medical care for hours after arrival. This has become more apparent after a five page report was released that confirmed Middlemore hospital was dysfunctional, overcrowded, and unsafe.  The Chair of Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, Kate Allan, agreed with the contents of the review that indicated wait times were a significant issue, and that these problems have persisted for years. According to Kate, many factors are contributing to this current crisis, including overcrowded facilities and system blocks preventing people from being admitted properly. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Huddle- We had David Farrar, Kiwiblog writer and Curia pollster, and Mike Munroe, former Labour Chief of Staff and current director at Mike Munroe Communications discuss the following topics: Gaurav Sharma has resigned, triggering a by-election and he says watch this space regarding a new party. Middlemore staff seem to be getting sick of the Government saying hospital short staffing is Covid related, these issues have been consistent for years. ASB now picking OCR will hit 5.25 percent - Grant Robertson quick to put out a press release saying inflation is easing - he's not wrong, but still a rough number to hear. How were the Reserve Bank's numbers so far off?  The final decision has been made made - AUT is closing its childcare centre. Couple of parents and the Tertiary union are pretty devastated but the uni says its not their priority. The Transport Minister seems very over the Restore Passenger Rail protestors closing down motorways every morning. 13 percent of people were flying to Perth, Honolulu and Tahiti without taking a bag so Air New Zealand  has got rid of that option. But 13 percent of customers using that option is still surely significant? All of these topics were discussed today on The Huddle! LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So we have more proof today that our country is spluttering along driving on fumes after 20 years of rampant growth and immigration and insufficient spending on infrastructure. Yesterday, an independent report found Middlemore Hospital's Emergency Department was unsafe and, dysfunctional and that stems from the hospital being overcrowded. Put simply, it's not big enough for the population it serves. Meanwhile there are pay inequities and shortages of doctors and nurses, all because of a lack of long term planning on the staffing needed for a bigger population. So the facts are that our population grew by 1.4 percent a year in the 16 years to 1019. That's an extra 1 million people to cope with. But our infrastructure spending was minimised to keep our taxes low. And before you start hollering that they're not low. They have been. Especially when you factor in no long term capital gains tax. So the Infrastructure Commission believes we currently have a $100 billion dollar hole of infrastructure. Stuff missing or broken. Water, hospitals, housing and transport. And they also believe that we would need to spend another $100 billion dollars in infrastructure over the next 25 years. That's predicated on a net migration figure of $25,000 a year for the next 25 years. That's $200 billion dollars we need to budget for to be fit for purpose. All the political parties know this. They've known this for 20 years. They get briefing papers every year from staff pointing out how the emperor has no clothes on. Yet still they do nothing other than rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic. They do nothing because to fix the problem would take higher taxes and borrowings and no one gets into the Beehive on that platform. Labour tried to have an immigration reset after the pandemic but that's quickly been shouted down. They've removed their self imposed migration cap and so the tap of people is slowly being turned back on. But the problem is that everything we've currently got is at breaking point. The Middlemore report says that it's only the extreme hard work and dedication of the staff is preventing further tragedies and they say it's not sustainable. There's a bill of neglect to pay. You can harangue a Health Minister for as long as you like but it's the entire country and our actions for decades that has caused this and I see no-one with the balls to get us out of it. You'd best prepare yourself for turning up to an Emergency Department in a tent in the carpark. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A report has flagged serious concerns about Middlemore Hospital's Emergency Department. The review was commissioned to look into the death of a woman after she left Middlemore ED without being seen. The woman turned up to the hospital in June with a headache but left a short time later in the face of huge delays and later died. The independent review found only half of all patients are seen within six hours. However, it could not say whether the woman would have survived if she had been seen by staff. Kate Allan is the New Zealand chair of the College of Emergency Medicine and is an ED specialist. She talks to Rowan Quinn.

An emergency department leader says the increased overcrowding at EDs has been happening year on year and is entirely predictable. A report into Middlemore Hospital's ED found only half of all patients at the department are seen within six hours, describing it as "dysfunctional, overcrowded and unsafe". It follows the death of a woman who left because of delays in being seen. Dr John Bonning, spokesperson for the College of Emergency Medicine, told Morning Report that the solutions lie in the whole hospital, not solely in ED. He says hospitals like Middlemore running at 98 per cent capacity can't function properly. Dr Bonning says more money is needed for workers, and new hospitals.

Top stories for Tuesday October 2022 There's no relief yet for supermarket shoppers- so will today's inflation figures be good news or bad? Emergency care specialists say problems identified at Middlemore Hospital's ED are happening at hospitals right across the country. Auckland mayor Wayne Brown tells Watercare to stop work on Three Waters.- we'll have reaction.

There's yet to be any word on what action - if any - the government will take in response to a scathing report on the state of Middlemore Hospital. A review into the death of a woman after she left the hospital's overcrowded emergency department without being seen has identified serious problems. It found only half of all patients are seen within six hours, and described Middlemore as "dysfunctional, overcrowded and unsafe". Health Minister Andrew Little spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Systemic failures such as at Middlemore Hospital's ED are rife among urgent care clinics too, according to industry leaders. A review into the death of a woman after she left the hospital's overcrowded emergency department without being seen has identified serious problems. It found only half of all patients are seen within six hours, and described Middlemore as "dysfunctional, overcrowded and unsafe". Royal College of Urgent Care co-founder, and White Cross director of urgent care Dr Alistair Sullivan spoke to Guyon Espiner.

The Health Minister says the health system can't be completely blamed for a patient death at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital. An independent inquiry was launched after the death of a patient who had left Middlemore's ED after being told it would take hours to be seen. The five-page document released to the Local Democracy Reporting Service describes the hospital as dysfunctional, overcrowded and unsafe. But Andrew Little told Mike Hosking the report found the woman probably would have died, no matter how the hospital responded. “That particular case was unpredictable and unavoidable.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In between early morning ward rounds, endless overtime, gruelling night shifts - and a pandemic - junior doctor Izzy Lomax-Sawyers has written a funny and at times heartbreaking account of her first year as a doctor.

Remember the free G.P scheme the Government set up to try ease the pressure on Middlemore's E.D? A review has recommended against rolling it out again, saying it was high cost and there's limited evidence of any benefits. With us now is Bryan Betty, the Medical Director at the College of GP's. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WorkSafe has admitted the mahi it's been doing to prevent construction workers from being killed and injured on the job has not been enough. The health and safety watchdog is now appealing for companies to do better. Since January last year, at least two construction workers have died every month and one person a day is being seriously injured. Five men are still being treated at the burns unit at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital after being injured in an explosion a week ago. Earlier this week a man died after an accident on a worksite in Mt Eden. WorkSafe chief executive Phil Parkes told Susie Ferguson they are fed up of prosecuting people and not seeing change.

The construction industry is being told it must do more to stop workers being killed and injured on the job. Since January last year, at least two construction workers have died every month and a person a day is being seriously injured. Five men are still being treated at the burns unit at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital after being injured in an explosion a week ago. Earlier this week a man died after an accident on a worksite in Mt Eden. Industry group Construction Health and Safety has joined with Worksafe and the Council of Trade Unions to appeal for companies to do better. Its chief executive Chris Alderson spoke to Susie Ferguson.

A New Zealand registered nurse has left her job at Middlemore Hospital's emergency department to be a combat nurse in Ukraine. Shannon Taylor is preparing to leave for the invaded country where she will join a small group of international volunteers who are putting their lives at risk to help civillians living near the front lines. She spoke to journalist Sally Wenley.

Three people are critically injured in Middlemore Hospital after an early morning gas explosion at a central Auckland construction site. It is thought the source of the explosion was a gas bottle hooked up to a barbecue. Checkpoint can reveal Wynyard Quarter residents raised multiple concerns about on-site reporting and health and safety. Firefighters on the scene have described using hoses to treat badly burnt patients sprawled across the footpath. Here's our reporter Nick Truebridge and cameraman Nick Monro.

A fake doctor who worked at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital has the whole health sector on alert. Yuvaraj Krishnan worked in the hospital's respiratory unit for six months. The Ministry, Health Minister and Middlemore and are remaining tight-lipped while a police investigation is underway. Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand says it was already considering clear, standard employment practices for hospitals around the country, but acknowledges they need to be robust. Sam Hazledine is the founder of MedRecruit, which is Australasia's largest medical recruitment company. He talks to Nick Truebridge. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6310755188112

Middlemore Hospital is apologising to patients who were seen by a man pretending to be a doctor there for six months. A criminal investigation has been launched after the man was able to work there, seeing patients, without the proper qualifications. The hospital, now part of Te Whatu Ora/Health NZ is investigating, including contacting every patient he saw. Health correspondent Rowan Quinn joins Lisa Owen with the details.  

Middlemore Hospital says it is deeply sorry and has reviewed every patient seen by a man stood down for posing as a doctor. A criminal investigation's been launched after the man was able to work in a clinical role at the south Auckland hospital for six months. The alarm was raised about a man after his colleagues noticed his work was not up to scratch. Health correspondent Rowan Quinn has been looking into this.

The police are investigating complaints about a man who used fake documents to get a job as a doctor at Middlemore Hospital . Charlotte Cook has been following the story.

There are more than three times the number of flu cases as Covid ones at one of the country's biggest hospitals - and it could get worse. Flu has risen rapidly so far this winter, at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital, and medical experts believe it'll hang on until August at least.

East Auckland residents say they have been bounced between clinics and are waiting hours on end for urgent after-hours health care. The population in the area is an estimated 140,000 people, but there's not a single 24/7 health centre servicing locals, who instead head to an already overloaded Middlemore Hospital. Botany MP and Opposition leader Chris Luxon says his call to reinstate funding for a local overnight service has fallen on deaf ears. Nick Truebridge and Nick Monro have the story.   

Police prosecuted just one of the five thousand drivers they caught breaking their restricted licences by carrying passengers last year. Middlemore Hospital is still under strain as investigations continue into the death of a patient who left the ED because of long wait times. A ministerial taskforce has been established as the chronic plasterboard shortage continues. 150 people have fraudulently claimed asylum by saying they're in danger from loan sharks.

Middlemore Hospital is dealing with four times the number of people presenting with the flu this winter, compared to pre-pandemic in 2019. Clinical director Vanessa Thornton told Morning Report it has been a very busy time in the last four weeks due to winter illnesses. Dr Thornton says, with Covid-19, there have been very few presentations of people with flu in the last two years because the border was closed.

A North Shore doctor says he is waking up at 4am worried about his patients after working gruelling 12-hour shifts seeing up to 62 patients a day."I'm burnt out and I've already been in tears ... the whole health system is falling to bits," medical director at Northcare Accident & Emergency Peter Boot told the Herald.His comments come as hospitals across the country have been inundated with people fighting Covid and other winter bugs. GPs were also seeing an overflow of patients diverted from overwhelmed emergency departments (EDs) due to long waits.New data, released under the Official Information Act, revealed nearly 3000 patients waited longer than six hours to be treated at New Zealand's busiest ED last month.The target is for 95 per cent of ED patients to be admitted, discharged or transferred within six hours.Last week, the Herald reported a "healthy" 50-year-old women died with a brain bleed after allegedly being told by staff at Middlemore Hospital's ED there would be an eight-hour wait before she was examined, sparking an urgent review. Health Minister Andrew Little acknowledges the huge workload of GPs and says it is not sustainable. Photo / Mark MitchellBoot said Monday was the busiest day he had experienced in his nearly 40-year career."It's terrible, it's very, very tough. However I come from a family of doctors and we are not quitters," Boot said.Lately, Boot had started work at 7am and didn't leave the clinic until 7pm. On Monday, he saw 62 patients with many coming from ED where the wait times were unbearable.To perform "safe proper medicine" a GP should be seeing about 20 patients a day, he said."It is very bad."He said some people couldn't see their own GPs because doctors were tired and had "given up during Covid" or were frightened of dealing with respiratory illnesses."There isn't enough doctors and they are just overrun and don't have any more appointments.""I've had to cancel my last three lots of leave and I usually wake up about 4am thinking about my patients and the scary issues at the moment."Broadcaster Toni Street took her injured child to Boot's clinic to treat a head wound on Monday.Yesterday, she thanked the overwhelmed medical staff and revealed to the Herald her son was Boot's 58th patient that day and the doctor had been close to burnout.The OIA figures show Middlemore Hospital's ED managed only 68 per cent of patients within six hours last month, leaving 32 per cent (2791) waiting longer than the target treatment time.Delays at the South Auckland ED had worsened dramatically since last winter when 79 per cent of patients were managed within six hours, still below target.However, Health Minister Andrew Little disputed the data, saying ED wait times fluctuated and it was impossible to establish a pattern from one month."One month data does not tell a picture about the system as a whole. Winter is a particularly bad time, they have bad months as suddenly a lot more people turn up. We have a huge surge at the moment."The Ministry of Health would work with "problematic DHBs" to help ease patient overflow when concerning trends were identified, he said.Little acknowledged that GPs were working "extraordinary hours" which wasn't sustainable.He suggested GPs may need to reassess their workloads.For instance, "whether someone with a muscle strain but is otherwise healthy and fit needs to see a GP or if they could go straight to physiotherapist."Little also suggested a person who was feeling "fluey" but was otherwise healthy could be seen by another health professional like a nurse practitioner. National's health spokesman Shane Reti says a comprehensive plan is needed for after-hours care. Photo / Mark MitchellNational's health spokesman Shane Reti said the OIA data showed the longest a patient waited at Middlemore ED last...See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland GPs say they're fatigued and overworked as an overflow of winter patients diverted from emergency departments knock on their doors. Twenty-seven clinics opened for free appointments in east and south Auckland at the weekend. Counties Manukau DHB funded them up to $350 per patient to help ease the pressure on Middlemore Hospital's emergency department. But GPs say they are not the long-term solution to the crisis and more planning should have been done. Amy Williams reports.

Overworked, understaffed and under extreme pressure. That's not just the situation at Middlemore Hospital but also at almost every other DHB in the country, with a massive influx of patients suffering winter illnesses arriving at the same time as staff are going off sick. Ruth Hill reports.

Investigations continue into the death of a woman who left Middlemore Hospital's Emergency Department because of long wait times - only to return hours later, critically ill. Counties Manukau District Health Board says patient presentations are up 17 percent on pre-Covid levels, an extra 400 patients a week and rising. And doctors and nurses say they've been warning for some time that massive workloads could lead to a disaster. Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton tells Lisa Owen the situation is "beyond distressing" for staff.

Health services are under increasing pressure with surgeries being postponed and patients being transferred to ease the load on hospitals. Middlemore Hospital is under increasing pressure as it copes with an influx of influenza patients on top of its Covid-19 workload. Jonty Dine reports.

Doctors are stepping up to cover nursing shifts as staff absences reach a critical point at Middlemore Hospital. There were 195 people in the south Auckland hospital with Covid yesterday - a total of 520 in hospital across the city and 696 nationwide. But at Middlemore alone hundreds of staff have been off because of Covid. RNZ Health Correspondent Rowan Quinn spoke Corin Dann.

Half of a big South Auckland elective surgery centre has been closed with staff diverted to help Middlemore Hospital cope with soaring Omicron cases. There are 142 Covid-19 patients in the hospital, far more than in any other. About one in four turning up to the Emergency Department are testing positive for Covid-19. Health correspondent Rowan Quinn reports