Increasing numbers of cruise-ship passengers are adding to Dunedin Hospital emergency department's workload, Southern District Health Board operations manager (Otago) Megan Boivin told the hospitals' advisory committee in Invercargill yesterday.
Ms Boivin said the DHB had started recording details of cruise-ship passenger numbers in order to track and measure them.
Passengers' ailments tended to be medical, most commonly related to cardiology needs.
A high proportion of the cruise-ship passengers were from countries with reciprocal healthcare agreements with New Zealand, Ms Boivin said.
In January, there were 3282 patient attendances at Dunedin's ED, compared with 3036 in January last year.
Ms Boivin said construction of the ED observation unit was causing disruption, which staff were handling well.
Some ED cubicles had been temporarily out of action because of the work. The unit was on track to be completed in August.
Despite the construction work, Dunedin's ED treated or transferred 89.31% of patients within the national guideline of six hours, its best result this financial year.
Southland ED's six-hour result had worsened, prompting comment from board members as to why one hospital had improved while the other slipped.
Southland treated or transferred 87.4% of 2782 ED patients within the stipulated six hours. The target is 95% of patients.
In January last year, Southland admitted 2646 ED patients.
The increased patient load was adding to waiting times, interim Southland chief operating officer Leanne Samuel told the meeting.
Committee member Richard Thomson queried why Southland ED patient numbers were comparatively high when Dunedin's population was much greater.
Ms Samuel said the hospital was working to improve its ED performance, including fast-tracking patients transferred from rural hospitals so they did not clog up ED.
