Middlemore Hospital nurses reportedly asked to work despite calling in sick

Staff shortages are putting pressure on Middlemore's Emergency Department. By Blessen Tom of RNZ Some nurses working in the Emergency Department at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital say they have been asked to come to work despite calling in sick. They say they have repeatedly raised concerns with management about the pressure on staff over the past two months, but little has changed. One of the country's busiest hospitals, Middlemore has been under significant pressure in recent weeks as ED presentations and staff sickness increase. Last week, an Emergency Department doctor at the hospital told RNZ that more than 100 people were waiting to be seen late on Wednesday night. They described the situation as 'appalling' for both patients and staff. The doctor said the department reached 103 patients waiting in the queue at 11.15pm, with seven doctors rostered overnight. Those patients were in addition to people already receiving treatment and waiting for hospital beds. Last month, Health New Zealand chief executive Dale Bramley told RNZ's Nine to Noon that the health system was under significant pressure from the country's biggest flu outbreak in years. Flu-related hospitalisations in Auckland are at a 10-year high, while national infection rates have reached a four-year high and are continuing to rise. One nurse, who has worked at Middlemore for more than three years and who RNZ has decided to grant anonymity to protect her identity, said overcrowding was a regular occurrence. 'Even in summer, Middlemore has patients in the corridor,' she said. 'When this happened in North Shore it was picked up by everyone, but this is our daily life at Middlemore.' She said she was used to dealing with high patient numbers but was concerned about the pressure being placed on staff who were unwell. 'When I called the [hospital] sick line, they told me to take paracetamol and come to work,' she said. 'That's not acceptable and it's very unusual. It wasn't like that before.' The nurse said there had been a lot of discussion among ED staff about the issue, and she believed it was more widespread than a few isolated incidents. 'I like working in Middlemore and we have incredible colleagues who are taking on more than they should with a lot of integrity,' she said. 'It's not an easy place to work, so telling us to come in for a shift when we're sick is not great.' Another nurse said he had been asked to come to work while unwell. 'They told me to wear an N95 [mask] and come to work,' he said. He said asking nurses to work while sick was unfair for both staff and patients. 'Coming to work while sick also compromises patient safety,' he said. A third ED nurse described a similar experience. He called in sick recently after developing a fever, sore throat and runny nose, but said he was told the department was experiencing a serious staff shortage and was asked to come in. 'I understood that the staff shortage was putting pressure on the department, but I genuinely felt very uncomfortable being encouraged to work when I was genuinely sick,' he said. Vanessa Thornton, group director of operations for Counties Manukau, said Middlemore, like many hospitals across the country, was continuing to experience increased Emergency Department presentations and high demand for care. 'Health New Zealand supports our staff to stay home when they are sick and unable to work,' she said. 'High demand combined with staff sickness does create pressure in our EDs. However, we always have contingency planning in place to ensure care continues to be delivered safely.' Thornton said anyone with concerns about the advice they had received about coming to work while sick could raise them through the appropriate Health New Zealand channels. She said the concerns could then be addressed. Health Minister Simeon Brown said the issue was an operational matter for Health New Zealand. 'The minister has respect and gratitude for frontline health staff looking after New Zealanders every day, and especially during this worst-in-a-decade flu season,' a spokesperson said. The nurses who spoke to RNZ said they had raised their concerns with their superiors multiple times but had seen no change. They also said they had raised concerns with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation. The organisation's president Anne Daniels said asking sick nurses to come to work was a 'sign of desperation' from Health New Zealand. She said nurses experiencing vomiting, diarrhoea or flu-like symptoms should not be expected to work. 'We should not be putting our patients at risk,' she said. Daniels said nurses should strongly push back if they were being pressured to come to work while unwell. She said nurses were already dealing with heavy workloads, and many were experiencing burnout. - RNZ Flipped trailer has spilled its load leaving all three lanes blocked near Oteha Valley Rd