Dunedin Hospital's urology service has had to introduce catch-up clinics to cope with more than 350 patients waiting for their first appointment with a specialist.
Emergency medicine and surgery general manager Dr Colleen Coop said this week the help of two locums meant there were now no patients waiting more than six months for such appointments.
Also, the number waiting longer than six months for treatment was down to 26.
The stretched service advised general practitioners in October it was unable to accept referrals for some eight conditions or procedures including epididymal cysts, impotence, infertility, circumcision and vasectomy.
Dr Coop said the service was receiving an average of 130 referrals a month, about 15 higher than for the same time last year. While 176 appointments were available each month, half of these would involve patients being followed up rather than seen for the first time.
The appointment of two locum urologists, employed for three to six months, were expected to help clear the backlog of patients waiting for their first appointment, surgery or bladder checks.
An extra 72 first specialist appointments were scheduled over six weeks.
Dr Coop said there were also 165 people waiting for surgery and a further 40 people who had waited for four months or less for bladder checks.
General practitioners have been asked to ensure patients have had necessary investigations before being referred.
It is hoped a permanent urology position may be filled early next year.
The service has also appointed a part-time urology clinical nurse specialist which the service hoped would provide "some support for patients and GPs", the DHB's newsletter for GPs said.
