The emergency department regularly had more patients than beds in recent days and weeks, and emergency clinics were also overrun, despite falling Covid numbers.
In a newsletter to staff, Peter Bramley, director of Te Whatu Ora Canterbury, said all areas were affected – from GPs to surgical wards.
“As we welcomed spring, there was hope that the worst was over and we could catch our breath before the next wave of Covid-19 appears,” he said.
“Unfortunately, things have not gone as expected and we have seen unprecedented demand for acute care across our health system.”
Last week it was so busy that emergency clinics had to cut their hours and the hospital urged people to keep the emergency department for really urgent cases, telling them to treat sprains at home with a bag of frozen peas.
Bramley said staff illnesses exacerbated the problem, with school holidays adding to the pressure.
Yesterday at 3 p.m. the hospital was 92 percent full.
The Nurses Organization encouraged all 35,000 members who work in hospitals across the country to decline additional services this week.
The move was a protest against Te Whatu Ora/Health NZ’s refusal to negotiate a new allowance for staff who work extra hours, now that a bonus that existed for extra work over the winter has ended.
Christchurch Hospital said it had seen no apparent impact on the first day.
Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury’s director of nursing Becky Hickmott said they would meet the need for additional staff by moving nurses from the existing pools to the areas where they were most needed, if needed.