Primary care costs help push emergency departments to breaking point

The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says the costs and waiting times to see a GP are helping push emergency departments to breaking point. Lakes DHB is the latest to issue a warning – Lakes DHB issues warning over swamped emergency departments – saying both Rotorua and Taupō Hospitals have extremely limited capacity to admit more patients. It is a situation repeated around the country. Waikato Hospital issued a similar warning in August. Hawkes Bay Hospital has been using …