Emergency department doctors are calling for a ban on National Crate Day after Waikato Hospital was inundated with drunk patients after Saturday's celebrations.
The event encourages participants to celebrate the first Saturday of summer by sharing a crate of beer with a friend.
Drunk patients flooded Waikato Hospital's emergency department from 10pm Saturday until Sunday morning, its clinical director, Dr John Bonning, told NZME.
The surge, which peaked at 2am, had an "enormous impact" on doctors and nurses, making it difficult for them to care for other patients.
Staff described Saturday night as the worst shift they had ever worked, Bonning said.
