10th November 2020
D Griffiths
Private/Individual
Email:
[FYI request #13948 email] Dear D Griffiths
Official Information Act Request for – ICU Occupancy
I write in response to your Official Information Act request received by us 19th October 2020 by way of
transfer from the Ministry of Health (ref H202007726), you requested the following information:
1. What is the maximum bed occupancy in ICU (intensive care units) across all hospitals in New
Zealand, in total.
2. What has been the bed occupancy rate (% of beds occupied in ICUs) by week / month (which
ever time period data is available) across the same hospitals in question 1 above, for the
period 15th March 2020 to 1st October 2020.”
Counties Manukau Health Response:
For context Counties Manukau Health (CM Health) employs over 7,500 staff and provides health and
support services to people living in the Counties Manukau region (approx. 569,400 people). We see
over 118,000 people in our Emergency Department each year, and over 2,000 visitors come through
Middlemore Hospital daily.
Our services are delivered via hospital, outpatient, ambulatory and community-based models of care.
We provide regional and supra-regional specialist services i.e. for orthopaedics, plastics, burns and
spinal services. There are also several specialist services provided including tertiary surgical services,
medical services, mental health and addiction services.
1. What is the maximum bed occupancy in ICU (intensive care units) across all hospitals in New
Zealand, in total?
CM Health’s Critical Care Complex includes both our Intensive Care Unit and High Dependency
Unit. Table 1 below reflects the number of bed spaces available that are resourced (staffed)
and the additional number of bed spaces available when fully resourced.
Please note in our Intensive Care Unit, some bed spaces are dedicated for speciality areas for
example, patients admitted with a burn injury or paediatric patients.
Area
Bed Spaces
Intensive Care Unit
12 (6 additional bed spaces could be utilised if staffed)
High Dependency Unit
6 (1 additional bed space could be used if staffed)
Table 1: Data Sourced Middlemore Central 28/10/2020
Counties Manukau Health
Private Bag 93311, Otahuhu, Auckland
T: 09 276 0000 | cmdhb.org.nz
2. What has been the bed occupancy rate (% of beds occupied in ICUs) by week / month (which
ever time period data is available) across the same hospitals in question 1 above, for the
period 15th March 2020 to 1st October 2020.”
Graph 1 below reflects the percentage occupancy in our Critical Care Complex by week from
the 9th March 2020 to the 4th October 2020.
As you will be aware, Covid-19 National Alert levels were put in place from 25th March 2020
onwards.
Graph 1: Data Sourced Middlemore Central 28/10/2020
I trust that this information is helpful. You are entitled to seek a review of the response by the
Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Official Information Act. Information about how to make a
complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or Freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that this response or an edited version of this may be published on the Counties Manukau
Health website. If you consider there are good reasons why this response should not be made publicly
available, we will be happy to consider this.
Yours sincerely
Fepulea’i Margie Apa
Chief Executive Officer
Counties Manukau Health
