Influx of patients at Rotorua ED

Don't get caught out without prescriptions and health checks this Christmas.

Rotorua's emergency department is already seeing an influx of patients ahead of the festive season - prompting a reminder for people to be prepared and keep emergency departments for emergencies.

Lakes District Health Board emergency department clinical director Dr Peter Freeman said people needed to prepare for the holiday season, check their GPs' opening hours and make sure they had organised their regular prescriptions and blood tests.

Dr Freeman said it also helped if people remembered that emergency departments were for people with genuine unexpected emergencies.

"We often see people at the weekend or in the evening who say they haven't been able to get to their GP. And very often these same people have a condition that could be managed in primary care during office hours - it just requires some planning and an understanding that emergency departments are for emergencies and are likely to be busy over the holiday period."

Dr Freeman said Christmas and New Year was always a busy time and they had already seen an increase in patients turning up to the emergency department.

Rotorua Hospital's emergency department has had a busy year, with record numbers over several months in winter.

While traditionally the department experiences a quieter period between the winter peak and the festive season, this hadn't happened this year.

In July, the emergency department recorded its busiest month, treating an average of 94 people a day and patients with higher than normal needs.

That month, 2910 people went through the department as the hospital was hit by the seasonal onslaught of winter bugs.

A report to a recent meeting of the health board said just over half of people who presented at the emergency department were self referred.

About one in six of those presenting, or 15 per cent, were taken in by the ambulance service and about one in eight were referred by a GP or Lakes Primecare.

Lakes Primecare's Christine Kampfraath said the centre would be open as usual right through the Christmas season from 8am to 10pm.

She said the busiest time was from Boxing Day onwards as the combination of GPs being closed, and a lot of extra visitors in town, meant more people needed treatment.

-Those with health concerns can call Healthline on 0800 611116 and Plunketline will also be operating on 0800 933922.