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Health and ambulance services are joining another weekend of big events in Hawke’s Bay, staging a large-scale Saturday-morning emergency at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Hastings.

But Health NZ Te Whatu Ora assures there will be no impact on patient care and service delivery during the exercise, which will take place from 8am to 9.30am.

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, but ambulances transporting real-time patients to the waiting room will use the Emergency Department Main Entrance, and members of the community heading for the ED will enter via the ambulance bay doors.

Health NZ Hawke’s Bay group director operations David Warrington said: “Predicting a large-scale emergency is almost impossible, but what we can control is how we react and respond”.

“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.”

He said the practice is crucial for teams to familiarise themselves with the tent’s set-up and operational requirements, to ensure Hato Hone St John 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.

Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.