EDs overwhelmed with COVID

Transcript: AMA Queensland Ramping Roundtable Chair, Dr Kim Hansen, Seven, Sunrise with Monique Wright and Matt Doran, Sunday 17 July 2022

Subjects: Emergency department stress from COVID

MATT DORAN:   Well, public hospitals around the nation will today operate without thousands of staff thanks to COVID-19. Specialists, doctors, nurses and support staff are succumbing to the highly contagious Omicron strain. Others are quitting their jobs due to stress or incredible burnout. Emergency departments truly are under the pump and ambulance ramping is now rife. Despite all of that, the flow of patients through the doors will only escalate as a third COVID wave begins to take hold. And we're joined now by emergency doctor Kim Hansen, who currently is in isolation with COVID. Doctor, good morning to you. A very big thank you for joining us while you're battling this horrible thing. Firstly, how are you feeling? How are you managing?

DR KIM HANSEN:   Oh, thanks. I'm feeling much better now, thank you. And I'm just fortunate to be, I guess, healthy and to have had a mild dose.

MATT DORAN:   Well, it's one of the terrible consequences faced by so many doctors coming into contact with the patients as you are. How chaotic are emergency departments right now? Take us inside the unit and what it is like at its worst.

DR KIM HANSEN:   Matt, it's been really overwhelming for everybody. The patients are coming in more and more numbers and they're sicker and sicker. And with less staff around, we really just can't keep up with the demand. We see sick people, injured people in the waiting room for hours that we know need to be there, we know they need treatment, but we just can't get to them in time. We try and see people in corridors, on ambulance ramps, in waiting rooms, wherever we can, because there just isn't enough beds and there's just not enough staff either.

MATT DORAN:   In addition to the physical exhaustion that must cause, doctor, I can't imagine what it's like to see people in the corridors as you've described, or even in triage tents, as I've read in other hospitals around Queensland, and not be able to help them while they're in pain. What is that like?

DR KIM HANSEN:   It's certainly really frustrating for us. We can't do what we're trained to do properly without adequate space and resources. And my colleagues and I talk about moral injury now, how it hurts us as well, but we know that patients and their families are suffering a lot more than we are.

MATT DORAN:   The health system is already stretched, we know that. Besides staff shortages, what else is contributing to this crisis, do you think?

DR KIM HANSEN:   Well, there's definitely just not enough doctors and nurses around. Even when we're fully staffed, we've got vacant jobs and I feel we're not training enough. There's not enough free beds that we can move patients to. A lot of patients in the emergency department are ready to move. There's just not a bed on the ward to move them to, which means other people have to wait in the waiting room. And the other big problem right now is access to general practice. It's really hard to get an appointment with people's usual GP. GPs are finding it harder and harder to practise, the rebates haven't increased for some time. There's a lot more complexity around now with COVID, with chronic disease, with mental illness. And I think the job's just getting a lot harder.

MATT DORAN:   Kim, with the numbers now, the fatality numbers as high as they are, I think yesterday in Australia, we saw 77 deaths, that will be representing itself in your emergency departments too. So you will be seeing more people dying from this disease, this virus, I should say. How hard is it for you to watch that and for your colleagues to be treating these people?

DR KIM HANSEN:   It's really sad, Matt. We see people come in who are so sick from COVID and we know they're not going to survive. We just have to do everything we can and hope that they might have a different outcome to what we expect, but we are seeing a lot more death and dying than we’re used to and that does take a toll on us.

MATT DORAN:   Yeah. We can't imagine the toll that takes, and the work that you do is just beyond extraordinary. This particular strain that we are seeing now, as it starts to increase and ramp up in this third wave, are there any new characteristics? Is there anything worse about this than what you've seen in the emergency departments prior?

DR KIM HANSEN:   I think it's probably similar. It's really, really infectious. Once it's in your household, it's really hard to avoid. And plus, we've got an influenza strain happening at the moment too. So it's really complicated. Some patients have both viruses or multiple viruses at once and they tend to be worse. We just know that it's everywhere and I think all Australians are going to get exposed to this virus at some stage over the next couple of months. And so we need to be as ready as we can be.

MATT DORAN:   Well, National Cabinet looking at reconvening emergency meetings. If you had a direct line to National Cabinet, Doctor, what would you say? What do you need?

DR KIM HANSEN:   Oh, we absolutely need everyone to get vaccinated, to wear masks in any indoor situations, to follow the rules with isolation. I'm so glad they're helping people to stay at home with the emergency payments. We need access to general practitioners, more telehealth item numbers, more rebates for them so they can see patients and look after them in that arena, which is so much better. And of course, keeping the flu vaccinations up as well as the COVID vaccinations is really important.

MATT DORAN:   Well, emergency doctor Kim Hansen, we stand in awe of what you do and what your colleagues do, and we wish you all the best in your recovery with COVID. Thank you so much for joining us.

DR KIM HANSEN:   Thanks so much, Matt.