Peak capacity at Taranaki Base Hospital ED

Over the last couple of months, an average of more than 100 people a day have been arriving at Taranaki Base Hospital’s Emergency Department.

Peaking at 120 patient presentations, the 23-bed ED facility was 30 patients over capacity last Tuesday creating a difficult struggle to find beds for them in the hospital, says Te Whatu Ora Taranaki interim chief operating officer, Katy Sheffield.

"To prevent overcrowding and potentially long wait times over the weekend, the Emergency Departments at New Plymouth and Hawera hospitals are reminding everyone to only present yourself to ED for emergencies such as accidents, serious pain and trauma," says Sheffield. "We are also asking everyone to limit the number of support people unless absolutely necessary as we need to limit people in the department in our peak times for everyone’s safety"

For non-serious presentations, the wait time to be seen at ED can be up to four hours.

"You can help ease long wait times by visiting other health services for non-urgent health issues like colds, sprains and infections," says Sheffield. "If you’re unsure where to go or who to see, please contact Healthline on 0800 611 116."