South and East Auckland Launches 24/7 Tech-Enabled Urgent Care

Health Minister Simeon Brown says the move represents a long-awaited upgrade for the region and a critical step in modernising how urgent care is delivered outside hospital emergency departments.

South and East Auckland residents can now access urgent medical care around the clock, as the Counties Manukau after-hours service officially transitions to a fully operational 24/7 model—powered by a flexible, technology-enabled healthcare workforce.

Health Minister Simeon Brown says the move represents a long-awaited upgrade for the region and a critical step in modernising how urgent care is delivered outside hospital emergency departments.

“For the first time in several years, Counties Manukau residents have access to urgent care at any hour of the day or night,” Mr Brown says. “This service is designed to meet people where they are—closer to home, faster to access, and supported by innovative models of care that reduce unnecessary hospital visits.”

A digitally supported, hybrid care model

What sets the new 24/7 service apart is its hybrid workforce and telehealth integration, enabling safe overnight coverage without relying solely on traditional, hospital-based staffing.

Overnight care will be delivered through a flexible model that combines on-site clinicians—doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and paramedics—with telehealth support, allowing real-time clinical decision-making, remote consultation, and continuity of care across shifts.

This approach reflects a broader shift toward distributed healthcare delivery, where technology extends clinical capacity and improves resilience during high-demand periods.

Reducing emergency department pressure through smarter access

The Counties Manukau area has been Auckland’s only region without 24/7 after-hours care since the previous service closed in December 2020. The restoration of full-time urgent care is expected to significantly ease pressure on Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department by diverting non-life-threatening cases to a more appropriate setting.

“Families deserve care that is easy to access, cost-effective, and clinically safe,” Mr Brown says. “By expanding this proven service to 24/7, we’re improving patient experience while making better use of the health system as a whole.”

The service previously extended operating hours from 7.30am to midnight in December 2025 and has now completed the transition to continuous coverage.

Part of a nationwide urgent care modernisation drive

The Counties Manukau expansion is a cornerstone of the Government’s National Urgent Care and After-Hours Framework, which aims to ensure 98 percent of New Zealanders live within one hour of in-person urgent care.

Recent and upcoming upgrades include:

• 24/7 urgent care services in Dunedin and Lower Hutt

• Planned 24/7 expansion in Whangārei

• New 24/7 services in Tauranga

• Extended daytime urgent care in Invercargill

• Extended hours for East Auckland from 1 March

• Expanded support for rural and regional communities

Together, these initiatives signal a shift toward technology-supported, community-based urgent care as a core pillar of New Zealand’s health infrastructure.

Call to action: experience the new model of urgent care

Residents in South and East Auckland are encouraged to use the new 24/7 service for urgent—but non-emergency—health needs, helping shape the future of accessible, digitally enabled healthcare delivery.

Health providers, digital health innovators, and workforce partners are also invited to engage with the model as it scales nationally—offering new opportunities to collaborate on telehealth, workforce innovation, and smarter urgent care pathways.

“This is about building a health system that works better for people—any time of day, in every community,” Mr Brown says.