The nurses’ union says it’s “hugely troubling” 29 staff at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital have been stood down after coming into contact with a Covid-19 case.
It comes after a man tested positive for the virus after showing up at the hospital's emergency department on Saturday with abdominal pains. He shared a room with three others in the hospital's Edmund Hillary block ward.
Pete Watson, chief medical officer at Counties Manukau District Health Board confirmed to 1News on Wednesday all tests of staff who were affected have come back negative for Covid-19 so far.
New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) President Kerri Nuku said it was “a significant time for everybody”.
"It is hugely troubling for everybody concerned," she said.
“Not only do we have staff that are exhausted … now we’ve got colleagues needing to isolate.”
The Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told reporters on Wednesday afternoon he didn’t believe the situation was because of negligence.
Bloomfield said staff at the hospital did “everything that could be expected of them”.
He said an investigation was now underway into the matter.
“It’s not my job to second-guess the decisions of the clinicians looking after people and those who are there providing care on the ground … let’s see what comes out of that assessment.”
Bloomfield said there were also “ongoing conversations” with the family of the man who tested positive for Covid-19 to find out how he might have gotten infected.
Health Minister Andrew Little, responding to questions in the House, said he didn't yet know how many casual or close contacts had arisen from the Covid-19 case at Middlemore.
"But what I can say is that the public health response has been assiduous and diligent, and those who are required to isolate and to be subject to testing for a period of time have been isolating and will be tested," Little said.
National's health spokesperson Shane Reti said Little's answer wasn't good enough.
“New Zealanders – especially Aucklanders – deserve to know the scale of the outbreak when they are complying with the strictest public health measures ever seen in this country.
“The minister needs to share information like if the patient was transported by ambulance, how many other people were in the Emergency Department at the time he was there, and how many patients other than those in his room potentially were exposed to him," Reti said.
Staffing levels still an issue
Nuku of NZNO said the situation was especially concerning given long-standing issues with staffing levels. Among those now isolating are 11 doctors and 13 nurses who will have to stay home for 14 days.
“What we've known is that there's short staffing in Middlemore Hospital, so that's not good enough especially during a crisis like this pandemic.”
She said that hospitals need to ensure they have enough resources to cope when preparing for a pandemic, particularly when it comes to staff numbers.
"We have to ensure DHB policies and processes are safe; some nurses are feeling pretty frightened and afraid, and I think some of their families are particularly concerned."
Last week, Auckland’s DHBs sent a call-out to nurses around the country to come to the region as the number of Covid-19 patients it was treating grew.
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