Over Matariki weekend some general practitioners in south and east Auckland will be taking up the slack for Middlemore's slammed emergency department, staying open longer and providing some free appointments.
The DHB initiative follows the death of a woman who left ED because of long wait times, only to return critically ill.
But a lot of GPs are under the pump and short-staffed too. And east Auckland with a population of more than 100,000 people, does not have a single 24/7 health centre after Counties Manukau DHB cut funding for the East Care overnight service in 2020.
The clinic's run by Care Group and its chief executive Benedict Hefford talks to Lisa Owen.
