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By RNZ

Two Auckland hospital emergency departments are so busy, some ambulance patients are being diverted to non-hospital clinics.

Hato Hone St John said all four Auckland hospitals were “experiencing significant pressure” and there were delays handing patients over to Auckland City and Middlemore hospitals on Monday afternoon.

St John was working closely with Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora and other hospital partners to manage the situation, St John Auckland operations manager Andy Everiss said in a statement.

That included taking some patients to other clinics and using telephone assessments, he said.

However, ambulance teams were focused on making sure those who had “time-critical needs” were not delayed, he said.

“Patient safety is paramount, and we are working collaboratively with hospital staff to optimise the process of transferring the care of patients who need to be admitted to ED,” he said in a statement.

Sources have told RNZ the city’s emergency departments have been extremely busy in the last few weeks as winter illnesses hit hard.

The pressure at Auckland City hospital comes despite a recent upgrade to increase clinical and waiting areas.

Emergency clinicians have spoken out for years about the pressure they are under, winter and summer, but always urge all patients who are seriously unwell to come to the hospital no matter how busy it is.

Care ‘always’ available - Health NZ

Auckland Hospital bosses urged people who needed emergency care to keep turning up, despite the pressures.

Health NZ Northern acting deputy chief executive Vanessa Thornton said it would never turn anyone away from emergency departments when they needed care.

“Our hospitals’ emergency departments have been very busy, which is expected at this time of year, but we want to reassure people in the region needing hospital-level emergency care that they will always receive it,” she said.

There were plans in place to manage high demand.

- RNZ