Auckland Hospital recorded its worst week for flu hospitalisations in a decade. Hospitals and general practices are under pressure, and it is not uncommon for patients to be placed in corridor beds or face waiting times of several hours.
At Wellington Regional Hospital, we have reported how patients witnessed others being given vital-sign checks while lying on the floor, while a doctor told patients that the hospital was at “200% capacity” and “every bed was taken”.
Hato Hone St John reported a record volume of 111 calls, with 2562 calls coming through to the ambulance service in a single day. A normal day would see around 1900 calls.
Covid health measures have been reinstated in some GP clinics, with phone-first triaging and respiratory patients being separated from other patients.
Nicholls also said the near-constant overcrowding in Auckland Hospital’s emergency department (ED) was leaving staff demoralised and was putting patients at risk.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora is assuring patients and carers that it has implemented initiatives to improve patient flow, reduce delays, strengthen workforce capacity and support timely ambulance transfers.
Its 2026 Winter Plan invested $25 million in additional fulltime equivalent staff and 103 additional hospital beds, with a further 163 moveable “flex beds” available.
But Patient Voice Aotearoa chairman Malcolm Mulholland argued the data showed emergency departments were in a “state of failure”. Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton also said that, no matter how Health NZ classified its information, the system was clearly overwhelmed.
“Whether you call it a code red, a code black, an escalation point, a breach, what all of the data tells us, and what our members who are senior doctors working in emergency departments tell us, is that they are not appropriately resourced to cope with the level of need.”
A strained health system puts significant pressure on other parts of our society and slows the economy.
Schools have been asking parents to keep their unwell children at home, and it is common to see half-empty workplaces or receive automatic replies to emails informing us that our colleagues are sick.
But our waiting rooms are now bursting, even during the warmer months.
During January and February this year, Auckland Hospital ED had breached its wait-time threshold at least once almost every day (94% of the time in January and 93% in February and June), RNZ reported.
So, while this winter flu season, like those before it, will come to an end as spring approaches, we should take heed of the warning signs. Our health system simply cannot cope with this as a new normal.
This month’s spike is not just another seasonal surge. It has spotlighted an ongoing and concerning trend.
