Wellington Hospital issued an apology after a woman endured 11 and a half hours in its emergency department without ever being seen by a doctor. The incident, which occurred December 1, highlights the extreme pressures facing New Zealand’s healthcare system, and raises questions about patient safety when facilities are stretched beyond capacity.
The Capital and Coast District Health Board, now part of Health New Zealand, is struggling to meet six-hour emergency department targets, achieving them only 50% of the time.
- On December 1, Wellington Hospital’s emergency department reached 256% occupancy at its peak.
- The patient, experiencing severe abdominal pain, repeatedly sought pain relief from triage staff during her lengthy wait.
- Health New Zealand acknowledged the distress caused and cited extreme staffing and space constraints as contributing factors.
- A recent review identified issues with the hospital’s layout and capacity to meet demand.
What’s causing these long wait times in New Zealand hospitals? A combination of factors, including increased demand, staffing shortages, and limited bed availability, are contributing to overcrowding in emergency departments across the country.
The woman, whose name has been withheld, began experiencing severe abdominal pain and fever roughly 24 hours before arriving at Wellington Hospital around 12:30 p.m. on December 1. After receiving advice from Kenepuru Hospital, she went to Wellington, where she spoke with reception and a triage nurse.
“Throughout the waiting time, I was experiencing severe spikes of pain, so I’d go back to the triage to get pain medication, and they would get signatures to give me pain medication, and I would go back to the triage person to follow up around time,” she said.
After several hours, blood tests were taken, but her pain persisted. Becoming “visibly upset” and “frustrated” after 10 hours, she inquired about her results. She described the experience as “scary,” fearing what might happen if she didn’t receive medical attention.
“I was in pain and I was feeling nauseous, and at that point afraid if I didn’t get seen, or if I went home wasn’t sure what was going to happen…I wouldn’t have come in the afternoon around 12pm, if I didn’t think it was important to be there,” she stated.
After approximately 11 hours, she requested to speak with the charge nurse, who explained that staff constraints and a lack of available beds were hindering their ability to see patients promptly. She left with her husband shortly after 2 a.m. the following morning, without a clear timeline for admission.
The woman experienced vomiting during a work trip to Christchurch the next day and was subsequently transferred via ambulance to Christchurch Hospital, where she underwent CT scans and further testing.
While acknowledging the pressures faced by Wellington Hospital, she noted that communication at Christchurch Hospital felt clearer and more efficient. “I think the system is overwhelmed in Wellington at the moment,” she said.
Health New Zealand apologized to the woman in a formal response, acknowledging the lengthy wait was unacceptable. Julia Mitchell, the ED’s operations manager, stated December 1 was one of the hospital’s busiest days in recent years, with occupancy reaching 256% at times.
“We completely understand and share your concerns about the long wait times, and we sincerely apologize for the distress this may have caused you,” Mitchell said.
The agency’s target is to admit, discharge, or transfer 95% of emergency department patients within six hours by 2030. However, Capital and Coast currently achieves this target only 50% of the time, according to the latest data from July to September 2025.
A Cabinet Paper released last year revealed that Wellington ED’s current services are insufficient to meet demand, and its layout contributes to overcrowding, with one in ten patients foregoing a clinician’s assessment and one-third being treated in corridors.
The government announced a major upgrade for Wellington Hospital last June, including a new emergency department and 126 additional beds.
Jamie Duncan, Capital Coast & Hutt Valley’s group director of operations, said the hospital hadn’t experienced occupancy levels as high as those on December 1 by mid-December. He reiterated the agency’s apology, stating the patient was triaged, given pain relief, and had blood tests reviewed by a senior medical officer, who found them to be normal.
“Unfortunately, the day she attended was an extremely busy day for the department,” Duncan said. He emphasized that patients are prioritized based on clinical need, not arrival order, and that all decisions are made by experienced clinical teams with patient safety as the top priority.
“While we aim to treat and discharge patients as efficiently as possible, we recognize how frustrating it can be to wait, and we genuinely empathise with anyone who experiences this.”
