The Ministry of Health sets a target for all DHBs that 95% of patients are seen within six hours, a target which they almost all struggle to meet. Photo: ODT fileDunedin Hospital emergency department doctors arriving to work in the morning say they are routinely seeing patients who have waited all night and have not been seen yet. The Pin was lodged by department health and safety representative Anne Daniels, an emergency department nurse. Yesterday doctors endorsed the Pin, and senior emergency department clinicians said the department was the busiest they had ever seen. In recent times the level of patient acuity — how ill they are — has become more serious and complex, adding to emergency waiting times.

Source: Otago Daily Times August 04, 2021 16:33 UTC