UPDATE: Dunedin Hospital remains under ongoing pressure but planned surgeries have resumed today (9 Jun).

Southern DHB Chief Operating Officer Hamish Brown says, “As always, our team has prioritised patient safety while also managing patient flow and focusing on discharging patients who were well enough to leave the hospital yesterday. This means that today, we have been able to resume some, but not all of our planned surgeries for patients.”

We understand deferring surgery will have been upsetting for our patients and we are committed to ensuring these surgeries are re-booked quickly, he said.

Acute and emergency surgery continued at Dundein Hospital during yesterdays crisis.

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Dunedin Hospital is over capacity today (8 Jun) prompting a halt to all planned surgeries.

The souths largest hospital blamed the situation on the sustained pressure on the health care system, together with high numbers of emergency department presentations, COVID-19, staff fatigue and illness. 

Southern DHB (SDHB) Chief Operating Officer Hamish Brown says: “We are doing our very 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.”

A SDHB statement said that COVID-19 and Influenza were still circulating in our community with the seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases is steady in the Southern region.

SDHB said being up to date with COVID-19 vaccinations remains one of the best defences against COVID-19. Staying at home if you’re unwell, getting a tested if you’re symptomatic, washing and drying your hands, covering coughs and sneezes, and wearing a mask in indoor public settings were all recommended, they said. 

The SDHB was encouraging the community to check in with Healthline or their GP for any non-urgent concerns as the emergency department was under pressure and there is a wait for non-urgent presentations. The Emergency Department was for emergencies only.

However if you need urgent medical help, please call 111 or present to the Emergency Department, they said.