Regional Emergency Response to Christchurch Earthquake

Update on Regional Emergency Response to Christchurch Earthquake

Issued on behalf of:
Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB)
Auckland District Health Board (ADHB)
Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB)
Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS)
Northland District Health Board (NDHB)

Today’s media update on the emergency response and support from the Counties Manukau, Auckland and Waitemata DHBs, Northland DHB and the Auckland Regional Public Health Service. Each organisation’s Incident Management Team continues to work closely to support Canterbury at this time. We are endeavouring to provide regular regional media updates during this emergency response phase. Thank you for your patience.

Counties Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB)
No update today.

Auckland District Health Board (ADHB)

The following patients have been received:
• 4 children.
• 4 adults.
• 11 home dialysis patients.
• 4 aged residential care patients.

The following ADHB staff have been deployed:
• 6 medical and surgical nurses.
• 6 orthapaedic specialists (5 surgeons and 1 fellow).
• 7 cardiac specialists (various clinical roles).

Capacity

We are:
• 93% adult (31 beds free).
• 99% children’s (1 bed free).

Intensive care capacity:
• Dept Critical Care Medicine 7 beds (of 14).
• Surgical High Dependency Unit 0 beds (of 4).
• Cardio-Vascular Intensive Care Unit 5 beds (of 13).
• Paediatric Intensive Care 3 beds (of 11).
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit 1 (of 41).

Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB)
• Both Waitakere Hospital and North Shore Hospital are busy with usual district health needs. All departments are running as normal
• The Auckland region is potentially preparing to take aged and frail patients from Christchurch over this week as we're asked to do so. Numbers and date not known
• The DHB is working closely with Primary Care to ensure that people from Christchurch know how to access GP services for prescriptions and other health needs. More information will follow
• We encourage people who have brought elderly relatives from Christchurch, that they let their own GP in Auckland know so that if additional help is needed referrals can be made to the DHBs

Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS)
Priorities for next 24 hours:
• Deployment Coordination Support in place to receive requests/communications and activate deployments as necessary.
• Daily briefing for standby staff completed, individual staff briefings on track when deployed.
• Two Medical Officers of Health have already been deployed to Christchurch as per ARPHS deployment schedule.

Completed:

- Staff Readiness - Deployment Kits/Briefings.

- Completion/maintenance of Deployment Availability Schedule.

- Health and Safety for deployed staff.

- Psychosocial Impacts presentation completed.

Business as usual impacts being assessed daily and prioritised.
Northland District Health Board (NDHB)
• Northland DHB welcomed 10 renal dialysis patients and three caregivers from Canterbury to its renal dialysis unit at Whangarei Hospital on Friday, all of whom are safe and well.
• Northland DHB has deployed two staff members to support aged residential care service in Canterbury. A Northland general practitioner has also been sent to support Pegasus Health.
• Elective surgery and outpatient appointments continue as normal.
Further updates will be provided as necessary. Thank you to all media outlets for your patience.

ENDS

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