Women’s & Children’s Hospital emergency department doctors ‘overwhelmed and anxious’ at record demand

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital emergency department faced “unprecedented demand” last night leaving doctors and nurses fearful of putting patients at risk.

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital emergency department faced “unprecedented demand” on Tuesday night with at one stage 60 children waiting to be seen or to be given beds after treatment.

Overwhelmed doctors were increasingly anxious amid fears they would forget to check on children as demand surged and they placed patients “in every nook and cranny” as the ED worked well above its capacity of 26, union officials say.

They conducted a snap inspection triggered by the concerns of members about the overload.

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SA Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA) senior industrial officer Bernadette Mulholland said COVID-safe rules were ignored as the ED filled, citing a sign saying a waiting area must be limited to 38 people but she counted 44 patients and family members — with another 15 in the foyer outside.

Officials say the sign had not been updated to reflect changes to allow larger capacities.

Ms Mulholland visited at 10pm following an alert from members and said at that stage 147 patients had been through the ED that day.

“I just sat and waited for half an hour as I did not want to interfere and to be brutally honest was not expecting that depth of patient presentations and families,” she said.

“To see it like that was very confronting, it was incredibly sad.

“There were 30 patients waiting to be seen, and other 30 who had been treated but were waiting for a bed or suitable support.

“Category 3 patients were waiting four hours to be seen, Category 4 patients six hours, while urgent Category 2 patients who are supposed to be seen within 10 minutes were waiting much longer.

“Medical staff were feeling overwhelmed and anxious, dealing with children and families who were getting frustrated.

“I went to check because of the unprecedented levels of presentations and lack of space, the demand had not been seen at those levels before and that was acknowledged by the executive.”

SA Health officials say part of the issue was ambulances with young people being diverted to the WCH from other major hospitals which were also under stress.

Ms Mulholland said lack of space now is a major issue and needs to be addressed as the new WCH is planned — a parliamentary committee in February was told by senior WCH clinicians they believe the new hospital’s paediatric ICU will be too small.

“Every nook and cranny was being used at the ED,” Ms Mulholland said.
“Doctors were feeling anxious because they would make an observation of a patient but then with the overwhelming demand were saying “don’t let me forget to check on that patient.”

SASMOA will continue to campaign for more resources as well as space at the WCH and also at the new hospital.

A parliamentary committee chaired by SA-BEST MLC Connie Bonaros took evidence from senior WCH clinicians yesterday however the hearing was closed to the public and media.

After reading of the overnight situation at the WCH on advertiser.com.au Ms Bonaros repeated her calls for a Royal Commission into the health system, saying: “What we’re hearing is so disturbing, every South Australian should be shocked – we’re literally dealing with babies’ lives and deaths here.

“This is Adelaide, not a poverty-stricken third world city.”

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital Network released a statement saying some young patients had been diverted from other busy hospitals following a surge in demand, adding to pressure on the WCH.

“All patients presenting to our emergency department were treated according to their clinical needs, with the care of the sickest patients prioritised,” it states.

“The hospital maximised the available space and treatment areas within the hospital to help the flow of patients, and sufficient beds were available for those who needed to be admitted.

“We are aware our ED waiting room was very busy due to the high number of presentations. Chairs were made available in other areas to encourage physical distancing.

“As always, providing high quality care remains our number one priority and families should rest assured patients who present at our ED will have access to the treatment they need.”