The length of time people are waiting to see a health professional is blowing out.
It could take up to six weeks to get an appointment at some GP clinics.
Taranaki and Canterbury hospitals last week warned they were operating well above capacity. The Taranaki emergency department was 30 patients above its 23 bed capacity last Tuesday.
Te Whatu Ora, Health NZ, says "across the motu, emergency department attendances and hospital admissions from ED have risen in recent weeks" and hospital occupancy has remained high.
The public is being reminded to only go to the ED for emergencies such as accidents, serious pain and trauma.
The Royal NZ College of GPs president Dr Samantha Murton spoke to Māni Dunlop.
And a spokesperson for Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand provided the following statement:
"Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand is continuing to monitor health system pressures and performance across the motu.
"Despite a downward trend in COVID-19 cases, Aotearoa’s health system does continue to experience pressure due to ongoing high acute demand.
"For instance, across the motu, emergency department attendances and hospital admissions from ED have risen in recent weeks. Similarly, hospital occupancy and the number of patients with a long length of stay have remained high. General practices and urgent care clinics are also experiencing increased demand for acute care, and staff sickness coupled with fatigue from the pandemic is having an impact.
"Nationally, COVID-19 case numbers have also slightly increased over the past week, however hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients are continuing to decline.
"By necessity, COVID-19 has made capacity in all parts of the healthcare delivery system more stretched. When you consider the measures frontline staff now have to take to limit transmission, it makes an already difficult job even harder when you build in additional time for infection prevention and control measures, donning and doffing PPE, social distancing, and testing, among other necessary public health measures. All of this builds in additional time required to perform tasks in comparison to the pre-COVID-19 working environment.
"Te Whatu Ora certainly recognises the effect on the system and we are working with regions to respond. Pressures are being addressed by focusing on hospital flow, prioritising urgent care, and increasing regional coordination to better deliver services.
"Te Whatu Ora wants to acknowledge the ongoing and extraordinary response of the health workforce and thank our people for the way everyone is responding to the pressure on services. The work you do is important and valued.
"We are pleased to see the need for additional hours is reducing, however we acknowledge there are some areas in the country where there are workforce pressures. Wherever possible, we are looking at other workforces to work alongside our clinical kaimahi (staff) such as our growing kaiawhina (health support worker) teams.
"Last month, the Government announced a suite of targeted measures to train more health workers domestically and bring more nurses and doctors into the country to help address immediate workforce pressures. There are also other initiatives under way nationally to recruit overseas trained health professionals while making it easier than ever for nurses to move to New Zealand to work.
"To help ease pressure on our health system, please, be up to date with influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations, which can help reduce the need for hospitalisation, along with the other precautions of staying home when sick; getting tested when you have flu-like symptoms; and regularly washing hands.
Additional information – where to get health advice:
- For accurate and reliable information on how to manage colds and flus visit Health Navigator (external link).
- Your local pharmacist can also help with advice on minor ailments and cold and flu symptoms. Some pharmacies also offer immunisation for influenza, MMR, and COVID, and blood pressure measurement and monitoring, blood glucose and blood cholesterol tests. Pharmacists can now also provide antiviral medications, without needing a prescription, for the treatment of COVID-19 for some people.
- If you become increasingly unwell, have underlying health conditions, or you are concerned about your health, call your GP or Healthline on 0800 611 116 for medical advice.
- If you are severely unwell, call 111 for urgent medical attention.
