Christchurch’s only 24 Hour Surgery has scheduled rolling overnight closures due to nursing shortages, adding even greater pressure to the city’s already stretched health services.

The surgery on Madras Street will be closed from 10pm until 8am the following morning on these dates: Thursday 7 September, Friday 8 September, Saturday 9 September, and Sunday 10 September.

It will then close during the same hours on Friday 15 September and Saturday 16 September.

Furthermore, from Thursday 21 September, the 24 Hour Surgery will close to patients each day between 10pm and 8am the following day for the foreseeable future.

The surgery’s general manager Patient and Provider Services Lisa Brennan said, “We will close our doors at 10pm to ensure we can see all patients before our staff finish their shift at midnight. Depending on the number of patients waiting, we may need to close our doors prior to 10pm.”

“The hours between midnight to 8am are typically our quietest so we’ve chosen to redistribute our staff to our busier times to ensure we are able to support as many people as possible,” Brennan said.

A notice to the surgery’s Facebook page said, “This is a temporary solution to our current staff shortages, and we will be returning to a 24 hour service as soon as we are able to safely do so. Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.”