A rise in the number of people coming to Auckland City Hospital and Starship Children's Hospital's emergency departments has forced Auckland District Health Board to make its winter beds available earlier than usual.
The board says that because of an increase in the local population, the past year has seen a 5% increase in the number of acute patients at the adult hospital and a 6% rise at Starship.
The general manager of operations, Ngaire Buchanan, says it's been putting significant pressure on the emergency departments and the rest of the hospital, forcing the board to make extra beds available earlier than normal.
She says an interim ward usually set aside for the winter rush will open in the next couple of weeks.