Urgent building work is underway at Auckland City Hospital to prepare more room for Covid-19 patients.
Auckland City Hospital has had urgent building work as vital negative pressure rooms to contain Covid-19 reach capacity. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
There were 32 patients in hospital across the region yesterday, 18 of them were in Middlemore, 12 at Auckland City and two at North Shore.
RNZ understands both Auckland City and Middlemore are near - or at - capacity for the vital negative pressure rooms that help prevent the spread.
Builders were making alterations to an Auckland City Hospital ward yesterday.
Auckland's three district health boards worked together and shared resources for the Covid-19 response.
All Covid patients in the city were currently being cared for in negative pressure rooms, a spokesperson said.
Work was underway to prepare more space if the negative pressure rooms were not available, she said.
"As part of our surge plans, and in line with Ministry of Health guidance, we are also preparing separate, well-ventilated spaces and wards that have been identified as being suitable for isolating Covid-19 patients."
Those were most likely to be used when patients had become less infected, the spokesperson said.
There are 17 negative pressure rooms at Middlemore, but the Ministry of Health said there were 18 patients there yesterday.
At Auckland City Hospital, there are 13 negative pressure rooms, and 12 patients.
The DHBs said there was more capacity across the region if needed, including eight negative pressure rooms at North Shore Hospital.
The three DHBs met several times a day to cooridinate the care of Covid patients in the region, she said.
