Orange Health Service has faced existential threats in recent months. These problems have led to thousands of delayed surgeries and contributed to the ongoing patient care crisis. Dr Rob Knox, the Director of Surgery, revealed that the hospital has called a “code black” too many times. This disturbing trend indicates that staff safety is in grave danger. Her facility has been under a hard bed blockage for two weeks and counting. This scenario is creating a vicious cycle that further backlogs more patients, keeping patients stuck in the emergency department.
Their plight has sparked outrage with hospital’s various departments. The effect on surgical patients is especially troubling. Dr Clair Whelan, a urological surgeon at Orange Health Service, has been forced to send 50% of her patients to Sydney due to time constraints. Patients waiting for robotic surgery, available only in the few hospitals concentrated in metropolitan areas, face blank tomorrows. Today, the availability of such equipment is still very much in doubt.
Code Black and Bed Block Crisis
Orange Health Service has declared a “code black” several times, a designation that reflects critical challenges in maintaining a safe environment for staff and patients. Because this designation has been given so frequently, community members are concerned about the overall capacity and functionality of the hospital.
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Rob Knox, seen in the video above, said his hospital had experienced a “chronic state” of bed block. He characterized this disconnect as “critical.” Patients are unable to leave the emergency department, contributing to longer wait times. This bottleneck sends a ripple effect throughout the entire hospital, adversely impacting services.
“When messages are going around from fellow surgeons asking if anyone has the option to accommodate a child who’s been stuck in ED for over 24 hours with appendicitis [and she] is the same age as your daughter, that’s when it starts to become a personal issue.” – Dr. Rob Knox
Pressure is increasing across the board including in specialties such as intensive care and anaesthetics. Consequently, staff are becoming more willing and outspoken in their call for change. Anaesthetics department expressed concern over emergencies being referred out, and emergency surgeries being replaced with elective surgeries. In fact, they fear this big change could seriously threaten patient safety.
“For a while now, the department of anaesthesia at OHS has raised concern at a local level that patients requiring emergency surgery are given a lower priority than patients waiting for an elective procedure.” – The anaesthetics department
Surgical Services Under Threat
Dr Clair Whelan underscored the terrifying consequences of this situation for surgical services at Orange Health Service. Given her failure to see patients within the recommended time frame, hundreds of thousands of people have to go all the way to Sydney for care. This places even more pressure on a healthcare system already overwhelmed in the metro region.
Whelan emphasized that if Orange Health Service cannot provide surgical services, Sydney hospitals will bear the burden of caring for all surgical patients from Central West NSW. She characterized this as a great weight on an already stressed system.
“That’s a massive burden on what is already an overstretched system in Sydney as well.” – Dr. Clair Whelan
The future provision of urology services at Orange now relies on the availability of equipment and in particular, robotic surgical tools. Without these tools, young urologists trained in robotic surgery may not be able to practice in Orange or surrounding areas, jeopardizing future healthcare access.
“I can say unequivocally that the young urologists, who have trained on robotic surgery, will not be able to work in the Orange area or in the western district because they won’t have that facility.” – Dr. Clair Whelan
Potential Solutions Across the Road
Indeed, in spite of these increasing pressures, a vision for the answer lies just beyond the borders of Orange Health Service. A shuttered theatre across the street from the new HQ that would be put to use as soon as it’s properly staffed and funded. In addition, two other theatres may come into play once they’re outfitted.
Dr. Knox pointed out that leveraging these nearby resources could alleviate some of the pressures currently faced by Orange Health Service. He noted that the presence of an on-site ICU and various specialists would enhance patient care if surgeries could be performed across the road.
“It’s this very frustrating situation when we have a public hospital that’s bursting at the seams … to know that literally across the road are empty operating theatres that could be staffed, funded, used at short notice, that will deal with this.” – Dr. Rob Knox
Now, both he and Dr. Whelan reiterate that action is needed right away. Whelan responded that if there’s no better plan defined in the next six months, the whole system is in danger of crumbling.
“We kind of need a plan within the next six months because without that plan the rest of it will topple over, the workforce will topple over.” – Dr. Clair Whelan
