Entire health system under pressure from biggest flu outbreak in 10 years - health boss

The entire health system is under pressure from the biggest flu outbreak in years, the country's health boss says.

Flu-related hospitalisations are at a 10-year high in Auckland, with national infection rates at a four-year high and rising.

Health NZ chief executive Dale Bramley told Nine to Noon the hospital system was "very, very busy" but it did not stop there.

"Whether its from health lines which take calls and triage calls, through to primary care, to St John, to our emergency departments, the whole health system is currently under significant pressure," he said.

A national cooridnation centre set up this week was diverting staff and resources to help where needed most but it was not always easy, he said.

That was exacerbated by a 27 percent increase in Health NZ staff off sick in the past week.

Influenza A was driving the spike, but there was also RSV, cold viruses and some Covid-19 cases circulating, he said.

Some of the country's emergency department were seeing record numbers of people through, he said.

He had visited three EDs this week.

"It's very, very busy, our staff are doing a very good job but it is quite difficult circumstances," he said.

Bramley said the Winter Plan, worked out before the season hit, is in action.

There were more people working in telehealth services and Health NZ was working with urgent care clinics to try to get them to increase their opening hours and a small percentage of elective procedures were being cancelled, he said.

About 1500 people around the country had turned up to an ED but been redirected to urgent care, he said.

There were extra hospital beds available and 264 extra staff in place, with 64 doing additional duties to support areas most under pressure, he said.

However, some Auckland health workers spoken to by RNZ this week said they had seen very little evidence of extra beds or staff.

Urgent care clinics in Auckland have had waits of 10 hours or more, and some have not been able to open.

Bramley said there has been a delay in the rapid-build wards promised by the government in November to help ease emergency department pressure, that were meant to be opened in the second half of this year.

Middlemore, Wellington and Waikato would now not happen until next year, although Hawke's Bay's should be open next month, and Nelson's in November.