Hospitals around the country are bracing to manage staff absences as a Covid wave hits ahead of the holiday period.
But Te Whatu Ora says it's prepared for the fresh round of infections.
"Covid-19 is still circulating in New Zealand, with a spike in cases in recent weeks," Te Whatu Ora's director of hospital and specialist services Fionnagh Dougan said.
"Our staff are part of the community too, which means they are also vulnerable to Covid-19 and hospitals across the country are experiencing an increase in staff absences as a result.
"However, we have systems and processes in place to ensure we have sufficient staffing levels throughout the year, and this includes times of illness peaks within our workforce."
Dougan said each region has its own localised contingency plan, with impacts "well managed by local teams".
In areas where clusters of cases break out within the same team or service, "usual practice" will kick in, she added.
That means "bringing in additional resources and working with staff to alter their roster where possible".
"We may also redeploy staff to where they're needed to help cover absences," Dougan said.
The Nurses' Organisation isn't thrilled by the solution.
Have you been affected by hospital delays? Send your story to news@tvnz.co.nz
Organisation president Anne Daniels said the real issue is that hospitals continue to be understaffed and under-resourced.
"This is further exacerbated during a pandemic and during the holidays," she told 1News.
"Everything possible should be done to ensure our patients and members don’t pay the price for this. The health and safety of patients and hospital staff is and should always be the first priority."
Daniels said a Multi-Employer Collective Agreement (MECA) with Te Whatu Ora requires the employer to ensure rostering practices are compatible with health and safety systems and guidelines.
"According to the MECA when designing and implementing shift rosters to meet service needs, the employer shall ensure the disruption, personal health effects and fatigue associated with shift work are minimised for the group of workers involved.
"The MECA also states staff may be permitted to change shifts, one with another, by mutual arrangement and with the prior approval of the manager.
"However, working sudden or extra shifts could increase fatigue which was bad for the well-being of nurses and increased the risk of mistakes."
Daniels said patient-nurse ratios should also be legislated and implemented.
But Dougan is confident: "In terms of the upcoming holiday period, a reduction in staffing levels is normal and expected. We factor this into our normal planning processes.
"We thank our people for their flexibility and understanding in order to maintain safe, high-quality care.
"We want to assure the public that if you need hospital level care, we are here."
The latest figures show 7880 Covid cases were reported in the last week – though it's unlikely everyone who tests positive will still be reporting their infection.
As at midnight Sunday, 336 people were in hospital with the virus, with five cases in ICU.
As of yesterday, a total of 3596 deaths have been attributed to Covid-19 in New Zealand, according to Te Whatu Ora.
377 patients in 24 hours
Christchurch Hospital reports a particularly busy night yesterday.
Lisa Blackler, Te Whatu Ora's acting director of operations for Canterbury, said in a statement: "Christchurch Hospital's Emergency Department experienced high demand last night and was very busy.
"Mondays do tend to be our busiest night of the week and in 24 hours on Monday we saw 377 patients."
There's no single reason for the pressure, she added, explaining some "complex" patients arrived.
"Bed availability in the hospital impacted flow out of the ED.
"Patients are prioritised based on how unwell they are and there were long wait times for those who are less unwell."
If it's not an emergency, people are urged to call Healthline in the first instance.
"If you have a medical emergency and you require urgent assistance, please call 111 immediately."
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