As many people take a break and travel around the country to see their loved ones, spare a thought for the health sector which still remains in crisis, National’s Health spokesperson Dr Shane Reti says.  

“After a grueling year of overflowing emergency departments, serious staff shortages and a lack of assistance from this Labour Government, our healthcare workforce still remains in crisis.

“Hospitals are still under immense pressure and have received no help from the Government or its Minister, except a belated immigration change to allow more migrant nurses into the country – a U-turn that should have happened months earlier.

“The billion dollar health restructure has done nothing to fix any of the issues facing the sector. Many health waiting lists are worse now than they were before the merger took place, and Health Minister Andrew Little seems to be hiding from accountability by not publicly posting the emergency department wait time data.

“Mr Little is going into his summer holidays still insisting that hospitals are coping. However, even this week there have been reports of patients being forced to wait more than 24 hours for a bed and of struggling emergency departments.

“The Health Minister is out of touch with his portfolio and still refuses to accept that there is a crisis under his watch. The health sector deserves better.

“Mr Little should redirect funding from the health restructure and invest it in the front line and reintroduce lifesaving health targets.”