Patient numbers soar for Whanganui Hospital's 15-bed emergency department

Whanganui Hospital's emergency department treated almost seven times the number of people it was built for over the second week of September.

Health NZ group director of operations for Whanganui Kath Fraser-Chapple said on one day between 2 and 9 September, the 15-bed ED reached a high of 253 percent capacity - equivalent to about 50 patients in the department at one time - which placed significant pressure on services.

For the week in total, patient turnover was 680 percent of capacity.

This was "based on patient turnover, or churn, across the week rather than the number of patients occupying treatment spaces at any given time", Fraser-Chapple said.

Health NZ had increased staffing within the Whanganui Hospital emergency department and continued to actively recruit additional staff, she said.