Healthline has brought on more than 300 extra staff over the last few days, in response to the huge increase in calls.
Some people have had to wait 50 minutes to speak to someone. Photo: freestocks / UnsplashBut people are still reporting lengthy wait times as they try to get advice about covid-19.
Whakarongorau Aotearoa runs the Covid-19 healthline services.
Chief executive Andrew Slater said Thursday was Healthline’s busiest day on record, with almost 33,000 calls across the various services.
The Covid-19 vaccination helpline is answering about 1700 calls an hour.
As at 4pm Friday, there were over 900 staff taking calls.
“We continue to activate our surge plans and increase our resources across the Covid-19 Healthline services. For example, in the last three days we have bought on more than 300 people to respond to the Covid-19 Healthline,” Slater said.
However, at one point yesterday, a caller was told there was a 50-minute wait to speak to someone.
To free up Healthline, people are being urged to check the Ministry of Health website for locations of interest.
They can also check the Healthpoint for details about where to get tested.
