New Zealand officials are looking at recruiting recently retired doctors and nurses as part of plan to counter a potential widespread coronavirus outbreak.
As the Ministry of Health prepare for the possibility of things getting worse on Kiwi shores, the Royal College of GPs estimate that around 200 former doctors would be eligible for a return.
"People coming out of retirement can be used in a variety of ways such as phone triage or remote triage of patients to help in those situations for practices," Dr Bryan Betty told 1 NEWS.
"There would be a benefit in maybe considering this as an option."
The issue has also been raised with the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, which says it will also offer support.
"What resources DHBs have already in terms of existing staff may not be enough," Hilary Graham-Smith of the Nurses Organisation said.
"That's when we would come into the scenario of perhaps calling on recently retired nurses."
The Organisation is pointing to North Shore Hospital, where 43 staff have been quarantined after contact with a suspected coronavirus patient.
Health Minister David Clarke is staying coy on the prospect.
"It is not inevitable, I'll be really clear on that," he said.
"The challenge we've got of course is that we're seeing more and more countries where the virus is spreading."
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