17 Jun 2022

'Beyond distressing' for staff at hospitals around NZ - Dalton

From Checkpoint, 6:12 pm on 17 June 2022

Investigations continue into the death of a woman who left Middlemore Hospital's Emergency Department because of long wait times - only to return hours later, critically ill.

Counties Manukau District Health Board says patient presentations are up 17 percent on pre-Covid levels, an extra 400 patients a week and rising.

And doctors and nurses say they've been warning for some time that massive workloads could lead to a disaster.

Association of Salaried Medical Specialists executive director Sarah Dalton tells Lisa Owen the situation is "beyond distressing" for staff.