Dunedin Hospital closed a ward yesterday because of another outbreak of suspected norovirus, while high urgent demand pushed the hospital into a "code black" alert.
Only four or fewer beds were available yesterday.
Some patients were having to wait on stretchers in the emergency department for a bed in a ward.
The orthopaedic surgery ward, 3C, was closed after five patients and one staff member fell ill with symptoms of the highly contagious norovirus.
Otago District Health Board operations manager Megan Boivin said it was unfortunate the two events happened at the same time. Some elective orthopaedic surgery and six cardiology procedures have been postponed today.
Acute surgery was still being carried out last night, and three elective general surgery patients had been warned there was a possibility their procedures might not go ahead today.
The hospital usually needed about 25 beds free each day for people who had to be admitted for any emergency, or serious illness or injury, but they did not have enough staff to enable that figure to be met, Mrs Boivin said.
"We are constantly reassessing the situation and taking all steps possible to safely discharge patients to free up beds.
"We realise the postponements will be upsetting for the patients involved and apologise for the inconvenience, but we need to have staff available to cover our urgent workload."
Waiting lists for elective surgery, procedures and outpatient appointments were thrown into turmoil less than two months ago when the hospital battled to control a month-long norovirus outbreak.
During the outbreak almost 200 patients and staff were infected, more than 2000 procedures and appointments were postponed, and the hospital was "locked down" for one week, when no visitors were allowed.
"What we had at the end of August we hadn't seen anything like that for quite some years," Mrs Boivin said.
"There is nothing to say this is going to go the same way."
Infection prevention and control charge nurse Jo Stodart said staff had got on to the present outbreak "very quickly" and closed the ward straight away.
"I think staff are taking it more seriously.
"People know what to do [following the last outbreak]. Cleaning is already in place and the food service know exactly what to do."
The message to immediately isolate anybody with vomiting and/or diarrhoea, and to treat such symptoms as though they were norovirus, had been pushed hard to staff, she said.
The source of the new outbreak was not known, but tests would reveal in one week if it was norovirus.
