Media Release
26 February 2004

Health System In Crisis

“The health system in New Zealand has reached a crisis point with waiting lists longer than ever, patients qualification being tested by a ridiculous ‘pain-ranking’ system and GP’s fleeing because of appalling working conditions,” said New Zealand First health spokesperson, Barbara Stewart.

“In 1999 the Labour Government promised voters to cut waiting lists yet we hear every day about patients who are waiting for years for operations or worse referred back to their GP’s.

“Today it was reported that patients waiting for gallstone surgery must suffer at least four attacks of severe pain and vomiting before they will be considered for surgery.

“This new type of pain-ranking is outrageous and is obviously a last resort attempt by a health board to cope with the number of patients coming through with inadequate resources.

”As well as this we have GP’s saying they are unhappy with their working conditions and that fewer than 30% think they will still be practicing in the next four years.

“These are just more examples of a Government that has failed to deliver on its promises.

“While the Government sits on a huge budget surplus to flaunt during election year it continually fails to deliver the resources needed to solve the problem.

“It is time for the Government to put its money where its mouth is and sort out the crumbling health system once and for all,” said Mrs Stewart.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>