Health NZ scraps Code Black alert for emergency departments in crisis

Photo: RNZ Health New Zealand has scrapped the highest Code Black alert used by some emergency departments to show when they are critically overcrowded or understaffed. The agency said its new ED At A Glance system was about getting a “nationally consistent” approach – but some doctors suspected it was intended to make conditions look better than they really were. Crowded EDs had been hitting Code Black when they reached more than 145 percent of maximum occupancy. Internal documents seen by RNZ showed that alert was gone and the thresholds for other levels had been pushed higher. Code Red – when care capacity was considered “critically reduced” – had jumped from 120 percent to over 135 percent. One emergency doctor, whom RNZ has agreed not to name, said it was “just moving the goal posts”. “Code Red requires 135 percent overload. That means patients backing up into the waiting room and corridors, and ambulances backed up as well.” The new ED alert system used colour-coded steps to trigger action to ease pressure, usually caused by a shortage of hospital beds or lack of staff. Responses could include bringing in extra staff, discharging patients from ED or hospital wards, or even...