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Middlemore Hospital boss says March will be 'pretty tight month'

February 27, 2022

It's currently dealing with more hospitalisations than NZ as a whole experienced during the peak of the Delta outbreak.

The country’s largest hospital is pushing hard to keep services going during the Omicron outbreak.

Another daily case record was set on Sunday, with 14,941 new confirmed cases.

Middlemore Hospital is currently dealing with more hospitalisations than New Zealand as a whole experienced during the peak of the Delta outbreak.

However, chief executive Dr Pete Watson said despite the high rates of hospitalisation, only two of those patients are in intensive care.

Watson said the advice to the community was “don’t hesitate” to call for assistance if they’re very unwell, but otherwise to avoid the hospital.

“The hospitals are prioritising care for those who need it, because they are busy and they are stretched, and it’s affecting our staff as well.”

“For most people, the likelihood of being hospitalised is very low,” added Watson.

He said a major issue facing the hospital is high rates of staff either sick, or currently self-isolating.

“Up to 10 per cent of our staff were off last week on sick leave or other sorts of Covid leave,” he said.

However, he said March is likely to be “a pretty tight month”, but was hopeful the pressure might be easing by Easter.

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