Anger at Chief as pleas for code brown go unheeded through NT’s Omicron wave
OUR HEALTH CRISIS: The NT government ignored calls by exhausted senior hospital clinicians to call health staff back from leave during the Omicron wave, according to the AMA.
Northern Territory
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THE NT government ignored calls by exhausted senior hospital clinicians to call health staff back from leave during the Territory’s Omicron wave, the Australian Medical Association has claimed.
But the government has since said it consulted with stakeholders in February, who agreed a so-called code brown was not necessary.
This is despite the AMA NT’s branch president, Robert Parker, saying many staff were pulling double shifts at the same time the government were deriding calls for a code brown as a “stunt”.
Days later, non-emergency surgeries at the Royal Darwin Hospital were cancelled by a code yellow.
Dr Parker has now revealed senior clinicians within the RDH were initially rebuffed when they first started urging the government for drastic action in February.
“A senior group of hospital clinicians called for a code brown, and the government basically told them to shove it,” he said.
After the rejection, both the Australian Medical Association and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Association published a letter calling for a code brown.
“There were whole wards being dedicated to Covid, staff being furloughed and getting sick,” Dr Parker said.
“People were distressed, everyone was under immense
pressure.”
He took aim at the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, in particular, saying the government was not listening to health experts.
“(Mr Gunner) was cruel and unfeeling and unimaginative, because we had staff working 12 to 16 hour days,” he said.
“For the Chief Minister to say there was only one person in ICU and therefore there was no problem was, again, cruel, poorly informed and unimaginative.”
Mr Gunner cancelled elective surgeries on February 4 to “help our clinicians manage the current Covid cases and prepare for potential increases”.
A week earlier, the Chief Minister said the Territory had “the capacity for (Covid) to use more ICU beds”.
In response to questions sent to the Chief Minister, Health Minister Natasha Fyles said she recognised the health system was “under pressure” in February but argued health experts agreed the code brown was not needed during the February outbreak.
“A code brown is the highest level of emergency response that can be declared to the entire public hospital system,” Ms Fyles said. “We were not at that point, and NT health stakeholders who were consulted agreed on this.”
A code brown sees staff brought back from leave in times of high pressure.
REVEALED - How many Top Enders waiting for elective surgery: THOUSANDS of people could be waiting years for vital operations as elective surgeries slowly resume following the Territory’s Omicron wave.
Category two and three procedures were cancelled after the NT government declared a Code Brown in early February, with fears the hospital system would be swamped with acute Covid-19 patients.
But with coronavirus case numbers now declining, the Sunday Territorian can reveal about 4000 people are waiting for elective procedures at either the Royal Darwin or the Palmerston Regional Hospital.
That is a significant increase on the 2438 patients who were waiting for elective surgery at the RDH on November 24 last year.
Elective surgery is by definition any surgery which can be scheduled in advance, and includes procedures which are necessary. These are divided into category one (within 30 days), category two (within 90 days) and category three (within 365 days), however some wait times have blown out to three years.
In response to questions, an NT Health spokesman said category two and three surgeries had resumed at Palmerston.
“Elective surgery is now gradually increasing at Royal Darwin Hospital as the Covid cases decrease,” the spokesman said.
“As of 28 February 2022, there approximately 4000 people waiting for elective surgery at RDPH.
“NT Health is finalising plans to further enhance increase the volume of elective surgeries in the near future.”
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation NT branch secretary Cath Hatcher said RDH had brought down the number of wards dedicated to Covid-positive patients from four to one.
But Ms Hatcher said the hospital system remained “short staffed”, which meant any speedy fix to waitlists was unlikely.
“They’re doing it gently and will gradually increase when there is capacity to do so,” she said.
“It is a shame, but it’s happening right across the nation.”
Ms Hatcher said NT Health was still relying heavily on agency theatre nurses from contractor Serco to “fill the gap”.
Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation of NT president Dr Thomas Fowles said waiting times would take a while to clear, and a looming pay freeze for health workers had the potential to delay procedures further by driving nurses and doctors interstate.
“Clearing this backlog will require a huge effort by health professionals, the very same people that are facing a pay cut from the Gunner government,” Dr Fowles said.
On Saturday the NT News revealed the Palmerston Regional Hospital was still partially closed, months after the government shut one-third of the facility’s emergency beds due to a lack of staff and resources.
Eight of Palmerston Regional Hospital’s 24 emergency beds still closed
EMERGENCY beds at the Palmerston Regional Hospital (PRH) still haven’t been reopened, months after they were mothballed due to nursing shortages.
Experts of the Top End’s hospital system have emphasised the closure is unrelated to the pandemic, saying a critical nursing shortage predates the NT’s Omicron wave.
Following a code yellow declaration in September, eight of the PRH’s 24 emergency beds were shut and nurses redirected to the beleaguered Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH).
It can now be revealed four of the closed beds were exclusively catered toward paediatric care. At the time, Health Minister Natasha Fyles said the move was taken to ensure the main RDH facility was properly staffed.
Five months on, the NT News can confirm NT Health is yet to find enough staff to allow PRH to resume normal operations.
Australian Medical Association NT president Robert Parker said the lack of action showed that the health system still lacked enough doctors and nurses.
“They just haven’t got the staff to run it,” Dr Parker said.
“Unfortunately they had shortstaffing and then they had Covid. Hopefully we’ll be able to see those places reopen.”
Dr Parker said recruiting in the NT was “complex”.
Australia Salaried Medical Officers Federation NT president Thomas Fowles said the eight beds were a “pure staffing issue”.
“This isn’t a Covid closure,” Dr Fowles said. “I’m not surprised, because they haven’t been able to recruit the nurses to staff those beds.
“It’s still understaffed.”
In response to questions, Ms Fyles said the health system was continuing to manage both Covid-19 and other health issues.
“Staffing levels fluctuate from day to day, and the Royal Darwin and Palmerston Regional Hospital work closely to manage staffing to provide integrated services between the two campuses,” she said.
“The priority of health staff is to always provide the best patient care and safety at all times, and I thank them for their dedication and hard work.”
CLP health spokesman Bill Yan said the continued closure of the eight beds was “completely unacceptable”.
“But (it is) not surprising given the fact the Gunner Labor government can’t see past the Berrimah Line,” Mr Yan said.
“The tens of thousands of Territorians living in Palmerston and the rural area shouldn’t be punished by having key services slashed because of the Gunner government’s sensational mishandling of our health crisis.”
The Palmerston Regional Hospital was opened in 2018. Health officials considered closing the hospital’s RD in September last year.
Originally published as Anger at Chief as pleas for code brown go unheeded through NT’s Omicron wave
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