The green flashing light Kiwi drivers must legally pull over for - and why it's being used more
Hutt Hospital has been forced to equip doctors’ vehicles with green emergency lights, as Lower Hutt traffic woes threaten their ability to reach patients in emergencies.
The green flashing light is a provision allowed under the New Zealand road code for a doctor, nurse, or midwife traveling on urgent medical business or responding to an emergency.
The dashboard-mounted beacons are being rolled out this month to anaesthetists, intensivists and obstetricians working at the Hutt Hospital, as well as signs reading “DOCTOR”.
The move was in response to roadworks around Lower Hutt that have made it more difficult for on-call specialists to reach the hospital quickly during periods of congestion, Health New Zealand said in a statement.
Extensive roadworks have caused heavy congestion in parts of the city and are expected to continue for years as work on the long-awaited Melling interchange is carried out.
Drivers who see a vehicle with green flashing lights must make way and stop if needed to allow these vehicles to pass.
“The beacon can only be used in very limited situations, such as when doctors are responding to immediate situations where a person’s health or life is at risk and getting to the hospital quickly is critical,” the agency said.
Hutt Hospital’s Dr Adam Hollingworth said the beacons can only be used when there is an “immediate threat to life and timely attendance at hospital by an on-call specialist is critical”.
“They don’t give doctors any special driving privileges, including driving above the speed limit,” Hollingworth said.
“Their purpose is simply to help other road users recognise that a doctor is responding to a life-threatening situation and, when it’s safe to do so, make way.”
Currently, senior specialists are able to be on call from home outside normal working hours, if they can make it to the hospital within 20 minutes in urgent situations.
Consultant anaesthetist Dr David Prior with the new beacon. Photo / Health New Zealand
But Hollingworth said the current roadworks in Lower Hutt were making it difficult for staff to get to the hospital within the 20-minute timeframe.
Health New Zealand said police have been made aware of the rollout.
A coroner has previously called for greater awareness around the use of green flashing lights for medical staff, after a Hutt woman died while a doctor was on his way to her aid.
Jacqueline Senibuli died after a cardiac arrest in Hutt Hospital on July 28, 2008. Her son raised concerns at the time that a doctor was delayed because police stopped him.
Dr Kevin O’Connor was an intensive care specialist who was urgently called back to the hospital to treat Senibuli. He was stopped by police when he was clocked doing 118km/h.
He told the inquest he had tried to explain the urgent nature of his journey but he did not have his doctor’s ID and was breathalysed after being rude to the officer.
The officer’s superior told a coroner’s inquest into Senibuli’s death the doctor had found himself in an “unsatisfactory situation”. He then suggested a flashing green light, which is already allowed for medical personnel, may have helped.
Coroner Ian Smith picked up on the idea. “A green light does not allow the driver to speed, but other traffic, on seeing the green light, should make way for it,” he said.
He said the delay of between two and five minutes would not have saved Senibuli’s life but at the time, he was concerned the situation might occur again.
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