Fifty senior doctors have told members of Hawke's Bay District Health Board that chronic staff and bed shortages and delays in elective surgeries are putting patients' safety at risk.
The consultants called an urgent meeting with the board last week to spell out what's going wrong.
The DHB admits there are problems, but insist patient safety is not being compromised.
RNZ Hawke's Bay reporter Anusha Bradley has the story.
