Northern Territory health officials have placed the Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals into a 'code yellow' for the second time this year, a day after the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese toured the facility.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, the Northern Territory Health Department said the declaration was made amid a surge in patient admissions into the territory's largest hospital.
Its statement said elective surgeries would continue and no procedures had been cancelled.
Code yellow declarations allow health staff to put in place measures to better manage demand.
An internal email sent out by Royal Darwin Hospital management — and obtained by the ABC — indicated the department would also conduct additional "bed buys" at the neighbouring Darwin Private Hospital, meaning public patients would be housed at that facility.
The email also stated that patients being airlifted from remote parts of the territory would be diverted to the Katherine and Gove hospitals "where safe to do so".
That correspondence cited "significant levels of demand and high occupancy" within the Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals as the reason for the code yellow.
"Despite this peak in demand, we will ensure that everyone who needs care will receive treatment," the email said.
It's the second code yellow declared at the Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals so far in 2023.
The announcement comes just a day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese toured the facility with Chief Minister and Health Minister, Natasha Fyles.
At the media event, Mr Albanese said two new urgent care clinics in Palmerston and Alice Springs would open in the middle of this year.
The federally funded facilities will offer bulk billing, be open seven days a week, and are will aim to take pressure off emergency departments by dealing with urgent but non-life-threatening injuries.
