COMMUNICATIONS

Media Release - 07/09/07

CDHB Votes to Increase Size of Emergency Department

The Canterbury District Health Board voted today to spend $4.84 million on reconfiguring and extending Christchurch Hospital’s Emergency Department.

The project, which will consist of a suspended extension to the north side of the department and a smaller addition near the ambulance bays, will increase the size of the ED by one third (552 square metres), making space for up to 55 patient beds.

A deadline of July 2008 has been set, with most of the major changes to be made during this summer to limit disruption to the Department.  The project will be staged so that the ED will continue to run throughout the building period.

Christchurch Hospital General Manager Mark Leggett told the Board that a long term increase in the number of admissions, coupled with a higher level of illness, had contributed to overcrowding in the Department, which had been particularly difficult this year.  He said the increased space, coupled with initiatives through Project RED (Rejuvenating the Emergency Department), would mean improvements in waiting times, patient flow, management of surges in demand and reduce episodes of patients spending time in corridor spaces. “One of our targets is that 90 per cent of patients presenting to the ED will be seen and cleared by the Emergency Department within four hours of arrival,” he said.

CDHB’s Chief Medical Officer Nigel Millar told the Board that “this extra space will give the ED the ability to manage patients better in the Emergency Department, with an improved level of safety.  It will also complement the work being done through the Improving the Patient Journey project (on smoothing the flow of patients through Christchurch Hospital).”

Clinical Director Angela Pitchford said she was delighted with the plans to extend ED. “The changes will allow us to accommodate patients in the most appropriate location to begin their treatment and will allow staff to monitor them more closely. The changes will also provide patients with more privacy.”

ENDS