Stuff.co.nz 14 April 2016 | Middlemore Hospital is so overrun with patients, it's established a hotline so GPs can call before referring people.
Since the beginning of the year the hospital has been treating more than 2000 patients each week.
With winter just around the corner, its capacity issues have led Counties Manukau Health to ask GPs to call ahead if they want to send patients to the emergency department.
The new telephone service will be answered by a senior medical officer from 8am until 2am and a senior registrar from 2am until 8am.
