As New Zealand readies for more Covid-19 cases, warnings about the ability of public hospitals to cope, are escalating.
There are 289 Intensive Care Unit or High Dependency Unit beds at the moment, with minister Andrew Little insisting that could be ramped up to 550 if needed.
But that's been roundly questioned by clinicians and ICU experts, including a recent New Zealand Medical Journal article that concluded fully staffed, extra capacity would be more like 67 beds.
A shortage of highly trained specialist ICU nurses is also flagged as a major problem.
Political editor Jane Patterson reports.
