Planned care including some major surgery has been postponed at Christchurch Hospital after being struck by "extremely high levels of acutely unwell people" and staff. The pandemic's impact is hitting general practice teams, urgent care practices, hospitals, and health centres, says Becky Hickmott, senior responsible officer for Covid-19. "We've had an average of 200 staff off with Covid-19 every day for some weeks now," she said. "This is in addition to high levels of sick leave being taken by health staff right across the system for other illnesses and to care for dependents. Christchurch Hospital's chief of surgery Greg Robertson said surgical teams are extremely disappointed at having to defer people's surgery, often at short notice.

Source: New Zealand Herald May 31, 2022 18:47 UTC