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Go to hospital if you need it, Middlemore says after Covid incidents

September 12, 2021
New Zealand Nurses Organisation Presidet Kerri Nuku said it’s a “scary time” for those involved.

Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital says locals who need urgent medical help should go to the hospital as soon as possible. 

Counties Manukau Health Chief Medical Officer Dr Pete Watson said on Sunday he wanted to reassure people that the hospital was a safe place.

“We know that Alert Level 4 and recent news about Covid patients at the hospital can be worrying. But we have strict processes in place to keep everyone safe,” he said. 

It comes after multiple people tested positive for Covid-19 after they had visited the hospital for unrelated conditions. 

Last Sunday, it emerged that a man who shared a room with three others in a surgical ward at Middlemore Hospital subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.

On Thursday, another patient who went to the hospital’s emergency department tested positive for the virus after her visit. 

Late Saturday night, the Ministry of Health revealed three more people , including a baby, also tested positive for the virus after going to the hospital. 

The Director-General of Health says staff did “everything that could be expected of them”.

“The hospital is safe to attend. People should not delay seeking medical help – if they wait too long their condition may deteriorate,” Watson said. 

When a patient arrives at the hospital’s emergency department, they are carefully and fully assessed, he said. 

He said if the patient has Covid-like symptoms, is known to be positive, or is suspected to have been exposed to Covid-19, they were “managed in a dedicated pathway”. 

“This pathway ensures all patients are kept separate from other patients for their hospital assessment and treatment, including in the emergency department, wards and intensive care units,” Watson said. 

Epidemiologist Michael Baker says the number of cases infectious in the community needs to reduce before shifting to Alert Level 3.

He said people who presented to the emergency department are socially distanced, and all adults were required to wear masks. 

Staff also wore PPE, including goggles and N95 masks, he said. 

Watson said Middlemore Hospital was also testing a higher proportion of patients presenting to the ED than previously. 

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