Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Waiting 789 Days To See A Specialist
Andrew Little’s failure to prepare the health system for a Covid-19 outbreak has meant that planned surgery for hips, knees and cataracts have been cancelled in record numbers, National’s Health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti says.
“Within the first three months of the Delta outbreak in August 2021, more than 100,000 procedures were cancelled and people now have to wait months or years to see a specialist because Andrew Little did not prepare the health system.
“The latest data on the Ministry of Health website for October 2021 shows that over 32,000 people are waiting more than four months for a first specialist assessment.
“Even worse, a person at Taranaki DHB has to wait more than two years, or 789 days, for a first specialist assessment.
“This is what happens when an incompetent, ideologically-driven Minister puts all his focus and money on a health restructure in the middle of a global pandemic.
“Instead, he should be focused on ensuring the health system is equipped to help people who are going blind with cataracts or who are in pain from their hips and knees.
“The Minister needs to stop putting his own legacy-building vanity project before the lives of New Zealanders.”
Gordon Campbell: On unemployment, Winston Peters’ low boiling point and music criticism
Labour Party: National Gaslights Women Fighting For Equal Pay
The Treasury: New Treasury Paper On The Productivity Slowdown
NZ Government: Government Recommits To Equal Pay
Emily Ireland - Local Democracy Reporter: Deputy Mayor ‘disgusted’ By Response To Georgina Beyer Sculpture
Te Pāti Māori: Māori Unemployment Rate Increases By More Than Four-Times National Rates
Government: Streamlining Building Consent Changes
