By Lee Scanlon, Westport News
Buller Health's acute stabilisation unit (hospital) would see patients, but not admit anyone, from 8.30am to 6pm on Friday, a media release said. Photo: Lee Scanlon/Westport News.
Staff shortages have again closed Buller Health's acute care (hospital) service to admissions, just three days after it fully reopened.
This time St John paramedics have been called in to help.
The staff shortage kicked in at 8.30am today. It was not revealed until Health NZ West Coast issued a media release at 11.25am - and only after The Westport News asked what had happened to a release Health West Coast promised, but did not reveal the subject of, yesterday.
Dated Thursday, the release said Buller Health's acute stabilisation unit (hospital) would see patients, but not admit anyone, from 8.30am to 6pm today.
Patients requiring admission would be transferred to Greymouth's Te Nīkau Hospital, 100km away.
Buller Medical Centre would continue to provide face-to-face nurse appointments and GP appointments (face-to-face and remote) until 4.30pm today.
From 6pm Sunday until Tuesday, the acute unit would be open for presentations, but again be closed for admissions, the release said.
Urgent weekend clinics tomorrow and Sunday would run as planned.
Associate director of operations Philip Wheble said St John extended care paramedics (ECPs) would help staff acute care from this evening to Tuesday.
Wheble said the ECPs were registered paramedics who assessed and treated non-urgent patients. They would send an ambulance care summary to the patient's GP and could refer the patient to other health providers if needed.
ECPs could help free up emergency ambulances for patients with life-threatening conditions while providing face-to face care in the community, Wheble said.
"The reality is that in situations where we have reduced staffing capacity, it is clinically unsafe to continue providing a service. While we understand that this situation can be unsettling for our Westport residents, we are very fortunate to have extended care paramedics from Hato Hone St John coming on board to support our Buller Health team.
"As a result, Westport residents can be reassured that if they need medical care this is available 24/7," Wheble said.
The acute unit was also closed for admissions from 2pm last Sunday until 8.30am Tuesday because of a doctor shortage.
Wheble said the shortage was caused by illness and leave, and inability to find locums to fill the gaps.
The latest closure is the eighth since the new health centre opened in May last year.
Westport's health services are under even more pressure because PRIME (primary response in medical emergencies) collapsed three weeks ago. PRIME doctors and nurses attend medical emergencies to help St John, or when St John can't respond fast enough. Without the service, St John volunteers may be left to cope alone.
Wheble told The Westport News last week that Health West Coast had only three PRIME doctors and one PRIME nurse in Westport and they were too busy working in the acute unit to respond to emergencies in the community.