For the last two years, from when COVID-19 first arrived in New Zealand to the current Omicron surge, Kiwis have been directed to Healthline as a first port of call to get guidance about symptoms, locations of interest and testing.
But as the current outbreak causes cases to increase exponentially - the daily totals have gone from 306 to 1573 in the last week - it's preparing for a significant jump in the calls it answers across three of its services: COVID-19 information, vaccination advice and general health advice.
"At the moment, in this phase of the response, I expect us to talk to 16,000 to 25,000 people a day. That's what we are working to," Andrew Slater, the chief executive of Whakarongorau Aotearoa, which runs Healthline, told Newshub.
To put that in perspective, combined, Healthline's COVID-19 information and general information lines averaged 3505 calls per day between February 17, 2021 and February 16, 2022.
The rise in calls has already begun, with Wednesday being Healthline's fifth busiest day ever for those two services. They answered 6901 calls, nearly double the average call volume. The busiest day for the two services was August 24, when Delta was spreading in the community, with 11,847 contacts answered.
Slater said there were periods on Wednesday when "the wait time wasn't what I'd love for it to have been", but it also marked New Zealand's first day at Omicron phase two, meaning there was different advice to impart.
"There's a lot of information and things changing," he said. "Over the last week, our length of time that we've been talking to somebody has gone from eight minutes to 12 and a half minutes, which I think probably just reflects the changes that are happening as we give people the advice they need."
Over January, Slater said 97 percent of phone calls were answered within 10 minutes, while over the last year, 88 percent were answered within that period.
"It does vary day by day, particularly also hour by hour as well. Sometimes as a result of things in the media or a big location of interest being revealed, we will get a sudden surge.
"What I'd say to people is, look, hang with us. We will answer your call as soon as possible. If you can go online and get the information you need, we'd really appreciate that.
"We've spent the last few months preparing for this, and I can assure you that myself and the team will be doing everything we possibly can to answer and respond to New Zealanders' needs when they need it.
Who picks up the phone?
Currently, Slater said, there are 3000 people working across the lines, with an additional 2500 on standby in case a surge in support is necessary.
"One of the great things that we've been able to do over the last two years is really cross-train that team to enable them to move through the different services as demand increases. Different people's needs change at different points in the response," he said.
"For example, towards the end of last year, the real focus was really on boosters and vaccination. Right here today, our focus is making sure that we support those people that are isolating at home, making sure that we provide advice to those people who are symptomatic and are wanting advice on where to go and get tested."
The people picking up New Zealanders' calls are a mix of health professionals, like nurses, paramedics and GPs, as well as non-clinical staff who can provide basic information, such as how people can book their vaccinations.
Staff have the capability to work at home, meaning the services can call on the help of health professionals, like paramedics, who may be isolating if they become contacts. However, Slater noted the shorter isolation period during Omicron phase two - it's dropped from 10 days to seven days for contacts - has posed a challenge.
"As the isolation period becomes a little bit less this week, how do we activate [the staffers at home] quickly rather than necessarily needing all the training? We've been working on some innovative solutions based on some of the things that our sister organisations have been doing around the world to access that workforce and use it."
Preparing for Omicron
Slater said Healthline had spent the last few months strengthening processes after reviewing the response during the Delta outbreak.
"I've spent a lot of time talking globally to our sister organisations, to understand what has Omicron meant for them [and] what are the types of things they've seen.
"We've listened really carefully to what they've been experiencing, and I'm pretty confident that as long as it does what they've seen overseas in the New Zealand environment that we are as prepared as we can be for the coming couple of months."
Slater said his team has looked extensively at call rates in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Asked how confident he was Healthline services could continue to provide quality information despite the added pressures from increasing call rates, Slater told Newshub it was important to note the advice being given to callers is constantly changing.
"Information changes and we're working really hard to keep our team up to date with that and updating our frequently asked questions and our scripts. We're dealing with quite big changes. The advice today is slightly different to the advice a week ago."
That constant change was exemplified this week with the move to Omicron phase two. Along with the shortened isolation periods, the key difference is that health systems are moving to focus on vulnerable communities and also relying more on digital technology.
For example, cases will now be notified by a text message, which will also provide key information about isolation, how to inform others they have COVID-19, and how to look after themselves. Cases will also use an online form highlighting their needs as well as identifying their close contacts and locations of interest.
"What that means for Healthline, it means that we can focus on those people who maybe don't have access to digital tools and/or those people who maybe have a more complex living arrangement or who need more care and support or are more vulnerable," Slater said.
Healthline also has access to more than 150 languages through its interpreter service, with hundreds of team members who speak Te Reo, Pacific languages and more.
"If somebody is calling us and English is a second language, then I'm confident that the team have a number of tools in the toolbox to be able to communicate in that person's first language to support them," Slater said.
As New Zealand enters this new phase of our response and cases skyrocket, Slater wants Kiwis to understand several key pieces of advice:
"If you're symptomatic or asked by a health professional, please go and get a test. We need to make sure… testing is prioritised. If you are at home with COVID and you are feeling unwell or your condition deteriorates, please, if it's an emergency, call 111 or pick up the phone and call Healthline so we can give you the care and support that you may need.
"If you're not yet posted, please go and get boosted. Like we've been saying for some months, get ready to isolate at home and come up with a plan."
