Dunedin Hospital at Capacity

Dunedin Hospital is over capacity today. Sustained pressure on our health care system, together with high numbers of emergency department presentations, COVID-19, staff fatigue and illness has increased the challenges for our already busy Hospital.

As a result, all planned surgeries for today have been deferred. This is part of the Hospital escalation plan when we reach a critical level of occupancy.

All our staff have been working extremely hard in the last few months and continue to do so to alleviate this pressure. We thank them for their dedication to Dunedin Hospital and their community. 

Southern DHB Chief Operating Officer Hamish Brown says: “We are doing our very best to meet the demand. We understand deferring surgery will be upsetting for our patients and we are committed to ensuring these surgeries are re-booked quickly. Our team are focussing on making sure patient flow, including admissions and discharges are timely, and that patient safety is our priority. We appreciate our community supporting our health care team so we can care for you.”

COVID-19 and Influenza are circulating in our community. The seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases is steady in the Southern region. Our health advice remains the same. Being up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations remains one of the best defences against COVID-19. Stay home if you’re unwell, get tested if you’re symptomatic, wash and dry your hands, cover coughs and sneezes, and wear a mask in indoor public settings – a good rule of thumb is to always wear a mask indoors when not at home. 

We encourage our community to check in with Healthline or their GP for any non-urgent concerns. Our emergency department is under pressure and there is a wait for non-urgent presentations. Please keep the Emergency Department for emergencies.

If you need urgent medical help, please call 111 or present to the Emergency Department.