Nearly 50,000 people presented to Tauranga Hospital's Emergency Department last year with that figure set to rise.

But ED Clinical Director Dr Derek Sage says his staff are being swamped with patients who should be at their GPs or visiting a pharmacist.

Tauranga Hospital ED Clinical Director Dr Derek Sage. Photo: File.

'The Emergency Department is being inundated by unprecedented numbers of patients. We expect winter to be busy but levels are up to those we normally only see at New Year, when we put on additional staff to cope with the easily anticipated spike in demand. We cannot do that every day of the week.

'Attending ED when you shouldn't diverts resources and potentially puts very sick people at risk.”

ED presentation numbers have increased 13.5 per cent over the last two years with 49,710 patients seen in the year to the end of June 2015.

The average daily patient number in June last year was 132. This has risen to 144 in June 2015. Daily figures of 176, 172 and 168 were also recorded for three days during the last week of June.

Derek says his staff had recently seen people for constipation, itchy eyes, sore throats, colds, irritating coughs, high blood pressure, simple ankle sprains, diarrhoea, joint pain, back pain and some who had just run out of their medications.

'These are not emergencies. If you have these symptoms your first thought should be to contact your GP.

'An initial consult with a GP will determine whether someone should be in hospital or not. In the vast majority of cases they won't need to be. The ED should not be used as an alternative.”

There was also a risk to staff, adds Derek.

'If people come in with coughs and colds it puts my staff at risk of becoming ill which can then affect staffing levels and the ability to cope with the increased demand.”

As well as visiting their GP, people who are worried about their symptoms can call the Ministry of Health's Healthline, free, on 0800 611 116. A Healthline Symptom Checker App can also be downloaded for your iPhone or iPad.

Alternative sources of care are provided by walk-in accident and medical clinics including:

Accident & Healthcare, corner of 2nd Avenue and Devonport Road, Tauranga (07 577 0010) and Bayfair Doctors, 42 Girven Road, Mt Maunganui (07 572 6800).