ABC The nurses union says up to 150 people seek help at the Royal’s ED every day and there are not enough beds. The bed shortage at the Royal Hobart Hospital has reached crisis point again.
Early last week, more than 30 emergency patients who’d been admitted and needed a bed were forced to wait overnight in the emergency department, some on trolleys in the corridors, others on chairs.
Patients were doubled up in resuscitation cubicles and ambulances were forced to queue outside.
Neroli Ellis from the Nursing Federation says the situation needs to be addressed urgently.
“This is not an isolated incident, it was for around three days, patients were waiting unreasonable times, 34 patients waiting for admission going from shift to shift still in the emergency department.”
Ms Ellis says there are not enough acute care beds at the RHH.
“We’ve got this constant competition between elective surgery and emergency admissions and they’re all fighting for the same beds, we have to meet our national standards and targets to get the funding so we’re having this, you know, it’s definitely a bit of a boiling point at the moment,” she said.
Tim Greenaway from the Australian Medical Association says the hospital is running at full capacity.
“It is a system that’s under stress and the AMA’s been saying this for some time,” he said.
“The cuts to staffing numbers, the cuts to beds have left the situation in such a condition that there is no slack in the system.”
The nurses union says up to 150 people seek help at the emergency department each day, and members will meet on Friday to discuss the crisis.
The Royal’s Chief Executive Jane Holden says the hospital is working closely with unions and staff to respond to the situation.
She says the recent spike in demand is part of “usual fluctuations” and there has also been an unusually high level of staff sick leave.
