Royal Hobart Hospital encounters serious delays in its emergency department

A health department spokesperson has addressed chaos in the Royal Hobart Hospital’s emergency department at the weekend, saying there has been “high levels of community demand”. LATEST

File. Helicopter landing at RHH. Picture: Chris Kidd

A patient was ramped for 19 hours as 92 patients waited in the Royal Hobart Hospital’s emergency department on Friday, the health union says.

The Health Department has confirmed the RHH “is currently experiencing a high level of community demand”.

It comes as the hospital has sent a desperate text message to all staff asking if they are available to work amid “significant pressure”.

In a text seen by the Mercury, the hospital’s rostering department wrote: “Hi all, the hospital is under significant pressure. Can you contact roster office with any availability within next 48 hours, overtime approved.”

A department spokesperson stressed that while there can be delays for patients, they are cared for in the hospital while awaiting admission.

“In these cases, patients are cared for by a health care professional at all times, inside the hospital, while awaiting admission to the emergency department,” she said.

“The patient in question received appropriate clinical care inside the hospital.

“They are now an inpatient where their care is continuing and they are in a stable condition.”

The department has asked for “patience and understanding” from southern Tasmanians during the RHH’s busy period.

Health and Community Services Union assistant secretary Lucas Digney said it was “very worrying” the patient had been ramped for so long.

“It could have been an even longer wait as our members were told 92 people were in emergency at the Royal at 2.30 on Friday,” he said.

“This is the culmination of all the issues we have been talking about and its overwhelmingly fatiguing for workers.

“It’s soul destroying for ambulance officers to sit with people and hear the calls coming in for people wanting an ambulance.”

Mr Digney said delays in people getting treatment had a “real psychological affect” on staff.

“It’s just a complete mess,” he said.

“We’ve seen people die while they have been ramped. People can’t get into their doctors, especially not after hours, so what do they do but call an ambulance or go to ED.”

The strain on the RHH comes during the same week that Nexus Hospitals pulled out of plans to build a private hospital at New Town citing a double of the cost and the only doctor at St Marys, who works at the local hospital and has 1600 patients, announced his resignation.

Mr Digney said the ambulance service responded to 434 cases on Friday but the department disputes that figure saying it was in the low 300s.

The department spokesperson said patients were triaged according to their level of need and patients presenting with lower acuity may experience longer waiting times.

“This may include lower acuity patients transported to the hospital by ambulance, with higher acuity patients (ambulance or waiting room arrivals) treated first,” she said.

The department says people requiring non-urgent care are encouraged to go to the new Urgent Care Clinic in Hobart which bulk bills and is open 4-10pm seven days a week.

Tasmanians can contact Healthdirect to speak to a nurse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.