It aimed to respond to higher demand and pressure on Whanganui medical services, particularly from more prevalent respiratory illnesses such as flu, Covid-19 and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).
Whanganui Accident and Medical (WAM) has set up a winter clinic with extra nurses, running Monday to Friday, midday to 8pm, for drop-ins.
“WAM’s been proactive for winter by setting up this winter clinic,” Ryder said.
The clinic will be run mainly by nurses, with doctors available if needed, aiming to see people as quickly as possible and keep them out of the waiting room.
Ryder said nothing was received for primary care in Whanganui from the Health NZ winter boost.
It “would have been nice” to receive support that could have been directed towards preventative services, she said.
Feels like Covid but not testing as Covid
Ryder said they had noticed a different, “quite heavy” cold that felt like Covid but was not showing up on tests as Covid.
“All I can say is that it’s a virus, and it will probably feel to the person like anything from a cold through to a serious flu.
“You’re feeling worse than you would have, normally, with a cold.”
Ryder encouraged people with these symptoms to look after themselves, stay home, avoid spreading it, especially to older people and babies, open house windows, stay hydrated and get their flu vaccine.
Unichem Pharmacy Springvale owner Melina Holmes said while illness rates were “pretty much on par” with previous years, people were suffering more long-term bugs, sometimes up to two weeks.
“When people are getting sick these days, they’re getting really sick. We tend to see a lot more people knocked about by viruses and illnesses.”
Pharmacy Over East pharmacist Fion McKibben said Covid-19 was “basically not around this year”, with prescriptions for antivirals slowing during 2025.
“Definitely less Covid than we’ve seen in the past.”
Over autumn, the pharmacy saw slightly fewer patients with colds and flu than usual, due to milder weather.
Sales of over-the-counter cold and flu medications picked up during the past month, McKibben said.
People with coughs, colds, sneezing or who felt under the weather should stay home and look after themselves, McKibben said.
Those with body pain, shakes and chills, or prolonged fever should contact a doctor.
Winter preparedness and antibiotics
Whanganui Regional Health Network’s winter preparedness plan encourages people to avoid treating viruses with antibiotics.
“They can’t cure colds, flus or most coughs as these are caused by viruses,” the plan said.
Unichem Whanganui Pharmacy owner Melina Holmes has noticed a spike in antibiotic and antiviral prescriptions, which swelled staff workload.
She said coughs, viruses and colds could be dealt with before they led to secondary complications, such as chest infections, requiring antibiotics.
“There’s definitely more bugs going around. We’ve seen it with the number of staff sick,” Holmes said.
“That’s probably one of the hard things that we have to juggle.”
Holmes said pharmacies found it particularly “tricky” when staff were off sick because of pre-existing understaffing.
“We’re still understaffed. There’s still a shortage of qualified staff in pharmacy, which has always been an ongoing issue but it feels particularly bad at the moment.”
Customers were being more responsible about their illnesses, Holmes said.
“People wearing masks is a much more accepted practice.”
Vomiting and diarrhoea were common year-round.
Winter flu and RSV
Professor Michael Baker from the University of Otago, Wellington’s department of public health, told NZME this week that mortality rates tended to rise about this time of year.
“Mortality during the four coldest months of June to September is on average 14% higher than the rest of the year, resulting in around 1700 additional deaths annually,” Baker said.
“Influenza is estimated to contribute to almost a third of these excess winter deaths, with many of the remainder associated with other seasonal infections such as RSV.”
For the first week of June, the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science, formerly ESR, said the national rate for ILI-related (influenza-like illness) Healthline calls had been steadily increasing in recent weeks, similar to the 2025 rate.
Call rates were highest in Te Waipounamu, followed by the Central region (Whanganui, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū, Wairarapa, MidCentral and Wellington).
Four respiratory illness outbreaks were recorded nationwide that week – two in Waikato, one in MidCentral (Horowhenua and Tararua) and one in Bay of Plenty.
Whanganui Regional Health Network encouraged whānau to create a wellness kete this winter.
This includes paracetamol, ibuprofen, tissues, hand sanitiser, lozenges, honey and lemons, electrolytes and vitamin C.
People can call the Whanganui Stop Smoking Service on 0800 200 249 for support from qualified staff with experience of quitting smoking.
People with winter illness who are concerned about their symptoms can get advice from Healthline on 0800 611 116, Practice Plus on 0800 7722 7587 or WAM on 0800 111 211.
People in rural communities can contact Ka Ora Telecare for online triage on 0800 252 672.
Noam Mānuka Lazarus (Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara) is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle.