Canberra hospitals hitting their limit as COVID numbers soar

The number of reported coronavirus cases on Friday were 1038, the third day in the past week cases surpassed 1000.

Speaking on Friday, Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said Canberra Hospital was "completely full" while Calvary was "also very busy" as the winter rush came through sooner than expected.

"I know a Canberra hospital that started the day today with every bed full and needing to do some very serious work to look at how they could discharge people safely to admit those who are still waiting in the emergency department for admission," she said.

Ms Stephen-Smith said people should be assured they will get the care required as targets and benchmarks around emergency care were "maintaining very strong compliance".

"We're doing a number of things in terms of models of care through our emergency department and through the hospital to try to ease that so we've put in some additional nurse practitioners and advance practice nurses into the emergency department at Canberra Hospital," she said.

Staff unable to work due to contracting COVID-19 also continue to play a role in hospitals struggling as 109 health care workers were unable to work on Thursday, 115 on Wednesday and 121 Tuesday. These are the highest figures in the last six weeks of staff shortages.

"Some services have to reduce their capacity because the specialty staff that they have in those services are actually at home sick," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

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While no new COVID deaths were reported on Friday, four occurred in the week earlier, bringing the toll to 78.

Of the deaths from May 2 to June 19, two had received four doses of the vaccine, 13 had received three doses, four had received two doses, one was unvaccinated and the vaccination status of the remaining three individuals were unverified.

The pressure on ACT hospitals is unlikely to ease by the end of winter as CHS chief operating officer Cathie O'Neil said on Thursday bed blocks are happening "every day with a large number of patients requiring longer hospital stays".

"I don't see it easing up over winter," she said.

Regional chief operating officer of Calvary Hospital Ross Hawkins described the situation as "a bit of a perfect storm" when low staff numbers, high COVID and flu cases and other chronic illnesses come together during the winter period.

"It's tough but everyone's trying to do whatever they can within that system ... we're looking at what we can do with petitioners support to ED to see people move through," he said.

The process of clearing beds involved assessing those who could be moved to other services such as aged care however Mr Hawkins said "what we're finding is a number of our aged care facilities are full as well".

"We are reviewing that on continuing to try and push people through that process of patient flows, just to try and move people out of bed to be there longer for whatever reason," he said.

"It's a perennial kind of chasing challenge because as soon as you move on, you're admitting it but we're really trying to do everything we can."

Australian Medical Association Canberra president elect Walter Abhayaratna said "all of these factors are controllable but no one person or group is to blame".

"This has been going on since the last century ... what we have is people deteriorating in the community to the point where they can't even breathe and they have to go into the hospital to go to the emergency department to have the treatment required," he said.

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