An Auckland doctor says patients are the ones that bear the ultimate brunt of a shortage of senior doctors - with long waiting lists and worsening health.
New research from the senior doctors union, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, shows public hospitals have only three quarters of the specialists they need.
This is contributing to longer wait lists for treatment and more stress on doctors.
An anaesthetist at North Shore hospital, Julian Fuller, told RNZ's health reporter Rowan Quinn he regularly sees the impact.
