Thread by @callapilla

Staff at Christchurch hospital are explaining what happened on the afternoon of the Mosque attacks. Senior staff were in a meeting and called out when the emergency department activated its major incident protocols - that means 5 or more patients from one incident. @MsKateLyons

Nursing clinical manager Tracey Williams said they had 48 admissions within an hour. Within 2.5 hours, she says "most patients were where they needed to be."

Earlier, hospital staff said no one died once they reached the emergency department.

The police cordon made it slightly difficult for some on the afternoon shift to get through, but Williams said the hospital was able to cope because the shooting was on a weekday and at a crossover between morning and afternoon shift - a lot of staff around.

Others who weren't rostered on just turned up, as they did after the 2011 Earthquake.

"People who weren't at work just appeared."

Williams: "The lockdown was unusual, the police locked us down and the department and we were very keen to let our staff go home... but it's been very reassuring to have the police presence ongoing."

Williams said there were more patients in the earthquake - 400 over 24 hours - but more all at once on Friday - 48 in under an hour.

The ICU senior nurses were in an all-day planning meeting. Were notified of the incident at 1.35pm and went back in.

They transferred three or four existing ICU patients out to the main ward to free up capacity for the shooting victims.

By mid afternoon they had 13 patients in ICU. They also almost ran out of supplies - a woman named Renee from Allied Health drove through the police cordon to restock antibiotics and other supplies.

Social workers also came in to support relatives so nursing staff were free.

By 4pm Friday they had a teleconference with other ICU units around NZ and arranged to transfer some existing ICU patients to Wellington to free up capacity in Christchurch for the shooting victims.

Head of ICU nursing: "Some of the patients have required two nurses to one patient because of the complexity of the care…. The staff have stepped up, they have done immensely well, I could not be more proud.”

The director of surgical nursing is speaking now. The ward was particularly crowded on Friday because patients who were ready to be discharged could not leave, due to the police lockdown.

Currently 20 shooting victims in the surgical ward, "many of whom are requiring multiple returns to theatre."

Dr Dominic Flysher (apologies if I have mangled the spelling) said it's not unusual to get gunshot injuries at Christchurch hospital. They usually get "one or two a week," and a few critical gunshot wounds a year.

Also want to correct the earlier point I made - only one person died after they arrived at ED, not no people. Apologies for the error.

“We never ran out of trauma teams. No patient waited to be seen… everyone was seen as soon as they got to us.”

Dr Dominic Flysher asked if he expected an event like this.

“I still expect the next big earthquake, but nothing like this.”

The vascular surgeon who operated on the 4yo girl who is still in Starship Hospital in Auckland is speaking now. He is becoming emotional describing the operation.

“It was really sad to see a young girl on the table with vascular injury.”

He says repairing her immediate traumatic injury was one of the proudest moments of his career.

“I have four kids. The youngest is 7, the oldest is 14, and I just imagine this was one of my kids. I was able to do my job and I left my emotions until after… after I had repaired her.”

He is crying as he speaks.

“I come from England, I am a Muslim.... And all my colleagues, Kiwis, have not stopped emailing me, texting me, and sending me flowers."

He personally knew two of the victims, says his wife knows "most of the wives of all the husbands."

That surgeon is Dr Adib Khanafer, who is in true Kiwi or Aussie style known as Eddie in the hospital.

We really should stop doing that.

Social worker Michael Kempt: "These patients were extremely humble, patient and gracious when they had every reason not to be.”