Senior doctors and dentists at Health NZ public hospitals and health services plan to strike for 48 hours on Tuesday 23 September and Wednesday 24 September. Emergency departments will be open for emergencies only. GPs, after-hours and urgent care clinics, and other community health providers are not affected by the strike and will continue to operate as normal.
About the strike
Acute Demand — Canterbury Manaakitanga ohotata ki te kāinga
Acute Demand is a Canterbury programme specifically to help treat people in their own home and prevent them from becoming so unwell they have to go to hospital. This programme is also known as acute demand management services (ADMS).
When you would use Acute Demand
An acute condition is one that comes on quickly. This service is for people who suddenly become unwell but can safely get the treatment or tests they need without having to go to hospital. Getting care through Acute Demand services can be for a range of health problems, including some people with:
- cellulitis
- deep vein thrombosis (DVT)
- chest pain
- pneumonia
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- migraine
- pyelonephritis (kidney infection)
- dehydration.
How to access Acute Demand
If you become unwell but can safely be treated outside hospital, your healthcare provider may refer you to Acute Demand. A member of the Acute Demand team will contact you to explain what care is available to you.
Your healthcare provider will continue to look after you while you are also receiving care from Acute Demand.
What Acute Demand care is
Acute Demand brings together many different services to support your healthcare provider and offer you care at home.
By working together, they can provide:
- up to 5 days of treatment
- nursing care in your own home or in another setting outside of hospital, such as at a rest home or your own healthcare provider's practice
- observation and assessment, which might be at your healthcare provider's practice or at the 24-hour surgery observation unit, for people with conditions such as migraine, vomiting, asthma or dehydration
- quick access to blood tests and some x-rays, ultrasound scans and CT scans.
24-Hour surgery — Pegasusexternal link
Some people who receive Acute Demand care will need to go to hospital because they become too ill. If this happens, the Acute Demand team and your own healthcare provider will refer you to hospital.
Acute Demand makes it possible for you to get the urgent care you need without going to hospital. It also frees up the hospital emergency department to deal with emergencies.