Restrictions on visitors have been put in place at two Taranaki hospitals which have become overrun with patients suffering winter illnesses and respiratory conditions, including the RSV virus.
Taranaki Base Hospital. Photo: Google Maps
Taranaki DHB chief operating officer Gillian Campbell said demand on hospitals services was at an all-time high.
The situation had reached "critical levels" at Taranaki Base Hospital in New Plymouth and at Hāwera Hospital, Campbell said.
"For several weeks, our hospitals have had very high occupancy due to acute illness and trauma, but with the extra pressure of winter sickness including RSV, colds, viruses and respiratory issues we have reached critical levels of demand," Campbell said.
The highly contagious respiratory illness, RSV, is causing havoc across the country in hospital wards and in child care centres.
"We currently have several patients admitted with respiratory illness, including RSV which has been an issue nationally," Campbell said.
"We have one confirmed adult and two children with RSV. We also have two adults and one child with respiratory viral illness, however they've tested negative for RSV but are still ventilated in our Intensive Care Unit."
Campbell said a temporary no-visitor policy was already in place for children under 16 and wider restrictions would begin on 9 July.
General hospital visits will be restricted to one person per patient where possible, except for maternity, the children's ward and palliative care. Other exceptions may be considered based on compassionate grounds.
Campbell said local emergency departments continued to swell with large numbers of people presenting daily, and there were a variety of viruses circulating in the community which was contributing to the pressure.
"Our priority is to keep our vulnerable patients and staff as healthy as possible.
"To help reduce the chances of illnesses spreading we are going to restrict visitation at both Taranaki Base and Hāwera hospitals, starting on Friday 9 July until further notice.
"A temporary no-visitor policy for children under the age of 16 is now in place, and we're also asking any people who are unwell not to visit or attend hospital appointments. We simply cannot have sick visitors in our hospitals; they must stay at home. Please reschedule any appointments for when you're feeling better."
Campbell said everybody could do their bit to stop the spread of illness in Taranaki by going back to basics with health hygiene.
"Keep practising all the good habits you learnt during Covid-19 levels - stay home if you're sick, wash and dry hands, and cough and sneeze into elbows."
Advice regarding RSV symptoms
Parents and caregivers should seek urgent medical advice if a child has symptoms and also:
- is under three months old
- is breathing fast, noisily or is having to use extra effort to breathe
- looks pale and unwell
- is taking less than half their normal feeds
- is vomiting
- has not had a wet nappy for more than six hours
Parents and caregivers should call 111 for an ambulance if a child:
- has blue lips and tongue
- has severe difficulty breathing
- is becoming very sleepy and not easy to wake up
- is very pale
- is floppy
- has breathing that is not regular, or pauses in breathing
How to prevent the spread of RSV and other viruses:
- Keep children home when they are unwell; they should not attend day-care centres or kindergarten
- Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue
- Regularly wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and dry them thoroughly
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser if hand washing facilities are not available
- Avoid close contact with sick people
- People with underlying medical conditions who are at increased risk of complications are strongly encouraged to avoid contact with sick people and have good hand washing practices
- If correctly worn, masks are valuable to prevent spread from infected people and reduce the risk of getting infected if you are close to people who may be infectious
