Eighty-two people in the Southern district have died with Covid-19 to date, and today (Wednesday June 8) Dunedin Hospital announced it was over capacity and cancelled planned surgeries.

“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,” the Southern District Health Board (SDHB) said.

Cancellation of planned surgeries is part of the hospital escalation plan when it reaches a critical level of occupancy, the SDHB said.

“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 said the staff are doing their 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.”

Both Covid-19 and Influenza are circulating in the community. 

The seven-day rolling average of Covid-19 cases is steady in the Southern region. There were 588 cases in the Southern district in the past 24 hours.

The SDHB’s health advice remains the same: Being up to date with Covid-19 vaccinations remains one of the best defences against the virus; 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).

The SDHB also encouraged people to check in with Healthline or their GP for any non-urgent concerns, keeping the emergency department for emergencies.

PHOTO: Supplied