Update on Regional Emergency Response

MEDIA UPDATE
For Immediate Release

Tuesday 1 March 2011
1:15pm

Update on Regional Emergency Response to Christchurch Earthquake

Issued on behalf of:
Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB)
Auckland District Health Board (ADHB)
Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB)
Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS)
Northland District Health Board (NDHB)

Today’s media update on the emergency response and support from the Counties Manukau, Auckland and Waitemata DHBs, Northland DHB and the Auckland Regional Public Health Service. Each organisation’s Incident Management Team continues to work closely to support Canterbury at this time. We are endeavouring to provide regular regional media updates during this emergency response phase. Thank you for your patience.

Staff across DHBs and ARPHS, without compromising patient safety and customer service, joined the country to observe the 2 minutes silence at 12:51pm in honour of the victims of the Christchurch earthquake on Tuesday 22 Feb.

Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB)
Middlemore Hospital is at capacity medically and surgically.
CMDHB is very busy at present, but mostly with business-as-usual.
CMDHB is preparing to take non-deferrable Canterbury surgical patients such as those people needing cancer surgery. These people will be incorporated into our normal surgical routines.
We have the capacity to take in aged and vulnerable people across the greater Auckland region and are doing so as required.
Many Canterbury people who have been evacuated by Civil Defence have been billeted with families in the greater Auckland community. We are in the process of working out how this will impact the wider DHB as these people will have GP and medication requirements.
Auckland District Health Board (ADHB)
1. Patients received (no change from 28 Feb):
4 children
4 adults
11 home dialysis patients
4 aged residential care patients
2. Staff

We have deployed:
6 medical and surgical nurses
6 orthopaedic specialists (5 surgeons and 1 fellow)
7 cardiac specialists (various clinical roles)
3 forensic pathologists
3. Capacity:

We are
96% adult (24 beds free)
99% children’s (2 beds free)
Intensive care capacity:
Dept Critical Care Medicine 7 beds (of 14)
Surgical High Dependency Unit 0 beds (of 4)
Cardio-Vascular Intensive Care Unit 3 beds (of 16)
Paediatric Intensive Care 0 beds (of 11)
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit 1 (of 40)
4. Emergency Department Presentations

We are having people arrive under their own steam from Christchurch and present at our adult and children's emergency departments. No numbers available as yet.

Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB)

No update today.
Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS)
Deployment Coordination Support in place to receive requests/communications and activate deployments if necessary.
ARPHS Refugee Health and Screening Service: 131 Afghani people from Christchurch have taken refuge at Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre (lead agency is Department of Labour). ARPHS’ RHSS involvement is overseeing and advising.

Available staff gathered to observe the two minutes silence that began with a prayer service and ended with Whakaria Mai via Radio New Zealand’s live coverage from Christchurch. It was a time to collectively and silently express our condolences to our own colleagues who may have lost whanau and friends.

Priorities for next 24 hours:
Review public health considerations for displaced persons.
Prepare Medical Officer of Health deploying on Friday. Rotational deployment of our Medical Officers of Health with two presently on the ground in Christchurch.

Northland District Health Board (NDHB)
• The ten Canterbury renal patients undertaking dialysis treatment at Whangarei Hospital remain safe and well.
• Northland DHB has deployed a further three staff to Canterbury. Two mental health workers who will work at Hillmorton and Princess Margaret Hospitals. Northland DHB's medical officer of Health Loek Henneveld will undertake public health activities. This brings a total deployment of Northland health care workers as follows:
o 1 x aged residential care nurse
o 1 x social worker (based in the West Coast)
o 1 x general practitioner (based at Pegasus Health)
o 1 x medical officer of health
o 2 x mental health nurses.
• Elective surgery and outpatient appointments continue as normal.
• Northland DHB staff are taking the opportunity to observe two minutes’ silence at 12:51pm today – the time the quake struck on Tuesday 22 February 2011.
• Red & Black Day - this Friday, Northland DHB staff will raise funds for NZ Red Cross Christchurch Earthquake Appeal.
Further updates will be provided as necessary. Thank you to all media outlets for your patience.

ENDS

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