Extra staff are being called in to Tauranga Hospital's Emergency Department to cope with the fast growing number of patients.

Patient numbers this winter have matched expectations usually left for New Year's Eve, with the season's busiest day seeing 172 patients through the door on August 25.

Emergency medicine clinical director Dr Derek Sage says the ED is taking on extra staff to cope with rising patient numbers.

Emergency medicine clinical director Dr Derek Sage says that figures gives people an idea of the levels of pressure staff have been under recently.

'The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy for Tauranga's Emergency Department and the hospital as a whole.”

Monthly year-on-year figures for Tauranga ED patient presentations are up 13.3 per cent, from 3955 in August 2013, to 4481 in August 2014.

Meanwhile, annual figures are up 8.25 per cent, with 44,324 patients presenting in the 12 months ending August 2013, and 47,982 in the year ending August 2014.

'Winter is always a busy period and we have another peak in December to January because of our status as a holiday destination.

'Winter never stops with a bang of course and we expect to be reasonably busy throughout September as well.

'In fact the general pattern over the last few years has been that we are getting progressively busier throughout the course of the entire year.”

Historically ED has calmer months in March, October and November but Derek says this is no longer the case.

'Even in our quieter times we are far busier than we were two or three years ago.”

He says there are patterns to the presentations.

'On a daily basis numbers steadily increase after lunch and the period after normal work hours is a busy time.

'Saturday, Sunday and Monday are our busiest days of the week. That is due to a mixture of reasons including a lack of GP availability over the weekend and by Monday morning you also have something of a backlog effect.”

Derek says peak hours and days is a pattern established largely by people presenting when it was convenient for them to do so, not because more emergencies occurred at those times.

'There are higher numbers at these times because it is socially convenient for people, whether presenting themselves or being referred by their GP for admission.

'People will often delay presenting until it's convenient. So whilst many may say they are an ‘emergency' on arrival they obviously haven't deemed it an emergency up to that point.

Derek wishes to remind people they are an emergency service not a primary care or casual drop-in facility.

'We have to attempt to staff up these antisocial hours not because genuine emergencies occur more often at these hours, but because we are responding to casual attendance.”

Derek says many patients presenting to ED were not emergencies.

'Many people who come in could have been dealt with by their GP or simply by going to a pharmacy. We treat a lot of minor injuries, stomach upsets, rashes, irritating sniffles and coughs and that is not the ED's purpose.

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

As well as visiting their GP, people who are worried about symptoms can call the Ministry of Health's free Healthline 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 Second Avenue and Devonport Road, Tauranga. Phone (07) 577 0010.

Or Bayfair Doctors, 42 Girven Road, Mount Maunganui. Phone (07) 572 6800