‘Weekend

Health board warning: Stop clogging emergency departments with minor injuries. By Jeffrey Kitt and Nicholas McBride.

IT may be the classic sports-mad Kiwi pastime to muck in with your teammates – but the number of ‘‘Weekend warriors’’ getting injured means New Zealand’s health system is feeling the strain.

District health boards such as Nelson Marlborough District Health Board are putting the thousands of amateur athletes who turn out every week to club matches up and down the country on notice, claiming minor sports injuries are making it harder to treat patients in actual