Health New Zealand has put a temporary halt on Dannevirke Community Hospital taking new patients while it finds more clinical staff, following a number of resignations.

Local doctors in the Tararua District have raised concerns about referring patients there because of safety risks, and the health agency has carried out an audit of the hospital this week.

Geoff Gwyn, the regional director planning, funding and outcomes for the central region, said new admissions would be paused for the next 30 days while Health NZ provided "additional clinical workforce support".

The hospital is run by Tararua Health Group, which also operates the Pahiatua Medical Centre, where staff have raised concerns over unsafe workloads and delays.

Gywn said the priority was "ensuring people continue to have access to safe healthcare services while THG works on a plan to stabilise its workforce and support the long-term delivery of services in Dannevirke".

Pausing new admissions to the hospital was a precautionary measure.

He said current patients would be looked after and maternity services would continue as normal.

Patient Voice Aotearoa's Malcolm Mulholland said he was confused by the development.

"It effectively becomes a patient-less hospital, I've never heard of one of those," he told RNZ’s Checkpoint programme on Thursday.

GPs were not referring patients to the hospital because of "clinically unsafe practices", Mulholland said.

He did not yet know how many staff would be brought in by Health NZ to help.

THG should not retain the contract to run the hospital, he said.

"They need to kick them out."

Hundreds had attended public meetings in recent nights, he said, and everyone was "singing the same tune".