Amid chronic staffing shortages, 10 Central Australian clinics are closed over the holiday period.
Chronic staff shortages and a growing number of COVID-19 cases are putting pressure on Central Australia's ailing health system, peak medical bodies say, with some communities concerned they will not have access to primary health care over the holiday period.
The closures come as Central Australia faces a wider staffing crisis at its local hospitals and at a time when the Northern Territory's Chief Health Officer has warned Territorians that "everyone" will become infected with COVID at some point as case numbers begin to climb.
Agency nurses are expected to arrive in the new year, but Ms Hatcher said the hospital was "really struggling" and trying not to "overwork" the few staff that they did have over the Christmas period.
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