Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and Hato Hone St John (HHSJ) are teaming up to carry out an exercise simulating a large-scale emergency at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital this Saturday morning.

As part of the exercise, a large tent will be put up in the ambulance bay at the Emergency Department (ED) to simulate a patient overflow area. Ambulances transporting patients to the waiting room will use the Emergency Department Main Entrance due to the tent, so during this time, members of the community needing to attend the ED will enter via the ambulance bay doors, and park to the side of the canopy instead of under it. This will be well sign posted, and the tent will not impede pedestrian access.

“Predicting a large-scale emergency is almost impossible, but what we can control is how we react and respond,” says Hawke’s Bay Group Director Operations David Warrington.

“This training exercise is a critical part of our emergency preparedness, ensuring that we are well-equipped to respond effectively should a major incident occur that requires additional treatment space.”

The practice run is crucial for teams to familiarise themselves with the tent’s setup and operational requirements, to ensure HHSJ and Health NZ clinicians work together cohesively and efficiently, while also identifying any logistical challenges before a real emergency arises.

HHSJ Hawke’s Bay area operations manager James Lovie says it will be a great opportunity for the area’s Major Incident Support Team (MIST) to put into practice what they have learnt.

“This will be a good opportunity for our MIST team members to put up the tent and to see if it will logistically and practically function, and more importantly, meet the needs of our patients and staff.”

There will be no impact to patient care and service delivery during the exercise which will take place from 8am to 9.30am on Saturday 22 February.