As the health system reels in the face of Covid-19, doctors say the time is right for serious reform.
This morning we're reporting the plight of a terminal cancer patient who spent days in a half-full hospital waiting to have a procedure that should have taken an hour.
Craig Gutry, 55, went into Palmerston North Hospital on Sunday to have a lump in his throat drained that was stopping him eating.
His wife, Jennie, says he initially waited in the emergency department for hours before developing a slight fever and spending the night.
But Mrs Gutry told Health Correspondent Rowan Quinn, the wait was only just beginning.
Both the Medical Association and General Practice New Zealand want the government to release a review of the health system that it requested, but has been sidelined.
The Health and Disability System Review recommendations were due out in March.
Kate Baddock is chair of the Medical Association.
