“We’re really seeing quite a lot of respiratory illnesses. I think this winter spike has come hard and fast.”
Mitchell said Ruapehu Health GPs were on the lookout for the warning signs of pneumonia, such as a cough with coloured phlegm, chest pain and a fever.
“Normally it’s a cough plus other symptoms, and people generally feel very unwell with pneumonia.
“The types of people we would be referring to the hospital would be if we were worried about their health, so frail and older people or pregnant women.”
Waimarino Health Centre GP John-Paul Schwartz said he hadn’t observed a “huge jump” in pneumonia as much as other respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis.
“We saw a lot of sicker children with bronchial-type breathing issues, and several of them we had to send to ED.
“But I’m not seeing the floods of people coming in.”
Schwartz said elderly people and smokers were much more prone to pneumonia.
“People get a cold and it settles mostly in the nose and throat and sinuses, but if it goes down into the lungs, it can make a massive infection and it makes it hard to breathe and get enough oxygen.”
He said as the clinic was not in the deepest part of winter yet, it was still a little early to see what the trend in patients with pneumonia would be.
“It could possibly be increasing over the next few weeks.”
Mitchell said there was always an increase in the number of people accessing GP services over the winter period.
“It’s a trend that primary care health providers experience every year, and we just have to try to get through the winter the best we can.”
Mitchell said getting vaccinated for influenza or checking Covid booster eligibility could help prevent winter illness, as well as wearing a mask to prevent spreading sickness.
People could get advice on managing their cold or flu symptoms through the virtual respiratory clinic available via 0800 111 211 or through Healthline via 0800 611 116.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
