Health Crisis.
No pill's gonna cure these ills.
Where I can run, just as fast as I can
To the middle of nowhere
To the middle of my frustrated fears
And I swear, you're just like a pill
Instead of making me better
You keep making me ill
You keep making me ill
Songwriters: Pink, Dallas Austin.
By rights, I should probably be writing about Christopher “Deadman Walking” Luxon this morning, speculating along with the rest of the media as to who might stab him in the back following a spectacularly bad poll for the government.
Or perhaps covering Paul “the Grunter” Goldsmith, who now admits that when he claimed he was silent in response to the Chair of TVNZ raising a story that detailed there now being more gang members than police in NZ, with gang membership increasing by 500 a year, all while the coalition has failed to increase the police force by the 500 promised, he may have in fact grunted.
Today, though, I am writing about our public healthcare system. Of ongoing delays to critical treatment in Nelson, people not getting paid in the Waikato, the rationing of dialysis in Canterbury, and 19 Covid deaths, which all sound bad enough until you consider that all those news stories came out in just the last week.
Our health system is in an absolute crisis; it’s getting worse, and winter is coming, which will only increase demand.
Nelson Hospital.
TVNZ has been running an investigation into understaffing and delays in critical treatment for conditions such as cancer at Nelson Hospital for a year. Over that time, the waiting list has gotten even worse, but that isn’t the complete picture. There are a further 5,000 people who sought treatment but were rejected from even joining the waiting list.
From 1 News:
Figures released under the Official Information Act show in January 2025 there were 36,187 on a waitlist, which has risen to 37,382 in January this year.
The vast majority of patients are waiting longer than they should be, with 20,498 on a waitlist longer than the recommended four months.
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists said that 48 extra senior doctors are needed to cope with the current workload across the region.
If you missed the report, you can watch it here:
Widespread problems.
Sadly, delays to health care are happening across the country.
Labour’s Dr Ayesha Verrall shared the following image, saying, “The National Party promised to restore Napier’s overnight health service, but it’s already closed over a dozen times this year. Their cuts are making it harder and more expensive to see a doctor or nurse. Every New Zealander deserves access to reliable healthcare when they need it, close to home.”
Rationing dialysis.
Then, last night, 1 News reported on the rationing of life-saving dialysis treatment at Christchurch Hospital, where, due to a shortage of beds and staff, patients who needed dialysis three times a week were only to receive it twice a week.
The clinical director described the resulting care as “suboptimal” and apologised for the need to ration care. Dr Penny Hill said, “It’s heartbreaking, it’s not what you train for years to do, to be able to deliver suboptimal care.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing in our first world country, and posted:
Rationing dialysis? This is insane. Simeon Brown must resign.
Margaret wrote: “This is a third-world health service being set up by Simeon Brown. It makes me so sad for all those who need dialysis.”
Renee said, “He ‘has expectations’ that Health NZ will sort it out. Surely that's his job. He's always blaming the ministry, but the buck should stop with him!”
Sure enough, the Health Minister did appear, saying the current situation didn’t meet his expectations. Which is all well and good, but unless he is providing the resources required, all that means is he demands even more heroic effort from our healthcare workers.
Following the TVNZ story, it appears that the hospital is desperately trying to recruit more staff, but it shouldn’t take bad press for Health NZ and Simeon Brown to act.
Not getting paid.
Moving to the Waikato, where there was another absolute disgrace and further confirmation of what happens when you lay off back-office people. Rule #1: You make sure people get paid. Again, Simeon Brown should resign.
One affected Health Worker said, “I've had to borrow money just so I could park my car and make sure I could get my car out of the car park this afternoon after work.”
This is how we treat our health workers. In my view, they should be provided with car parking, but beyond that, they sure as heck deserve to be paid on time.
Cheryl commented, “Failures at Te Whatu Ora should all be laid at the feet of Nicola Willis for cutting staff at Te Whatu Ora, including IT staff, and Simeon Snivelling Brown! Both are RESPONSIBLE!”
PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said, “Workers turned up and did their jobs, caring for patients, keeping hospitals running, and they deserved to be paid on time. A payroll failure of this scale is not a minor inconvenience; it causes real hardship.”
A spike in Covid deaths.
While I was in Waitakere a week ago, I was surprised to be given a second Covid test, having had a negative test when I was admitted. The Nurse sticking the swab up my nose explained that there was a Covid outbreak in one of the wards, not the one I was in, but one with mostly elderly people. Great! Just where you don’t want it.
We don’t think about Covid all that much anymore, so I was astonished to hear how many deaths there had been this week and posted:
19 COVID deaths in a week. Why are there no government messages imploring people to get a booster, or did I miss them?
Professor Michael Baker said, “If you're in a more vulnerable group, so older New Zealanders and those with underlying morbidity, chronic illnesses, you certainly should get a booster every six months to top up your protection.”
But why was there no significant information campaign from the government?
Martin suggested, “Probably because Winston was in league with the anti-vaxxers who camped outside parliament, so the Coalition has an agreement never to acknowledge Covid ever again.”
Marie wrote, “I've got Covid now. The new Covid vaccines came in on 1st March. Feeling crook as a dog! I’d love it if people could stay home if they feel sick to stop the spread. But that's easier said than done for some people, especially if their workplace puts pressure on them.”
Huhana said, “We are in our 9th round and disabled people are still dying at a higher rate, 11% more than non-disabled people of Covid. No one cares anymore, sadly.”
Les wrote, “Just imagine if this lot were in charge during Covid, the death toll would have been in the tens of thousands. Thanks, Jacinda, for your outstanding leadership. We were so lucky to have you as our Prime Minister when we compare you to what we have now.”
Speaking of comparing what we have now…
The American way.
As you know, our government, or at least the people who fund it, is eager to see the growth of our private health sector. I thought I’d include some statistics here to illustrate what such a system looks like in the country our government seems keen to emulate - the USA.
As you’re no doubt aware, the US can find trillions of dollars for bombs, but as the richest country on earth, it cannot provide necessary healthcare to its citizens, and leaves that up to the free market.
This table shows the treatments Americans are borrowing for, with the average medical debt in America at US$25,382, or $43,000 NZD.
While America is known for expensive medical care, Canada and Australia saw even larger increases in the share of adults with medical debt, rising from 12% and 17% (respectively) in 2025 to 30% each in 2026. Countries that we think of as having good public healthcare systems, where wait times have forced people into going private.
It is horrific that people have to go into debt to afford these treatments, and if we don’t change course, that is where we are heading.
I urge you to vote Red or Green to protect our public healthcare system; if you vote Blue or Yellow, you will help undermine and dismantle it.
It’s that simple, as for NZ First or TOP, if you care about our healthcare system, why would you vote for a party that may go into coalition with the parties destroying it - it’s madness.
Our health system desperately needs more Doctors, Nurses, equipment, and even hospital space. If the current government continues, matters will only deteriorate. If you care about our public health system, please vote to change the government.
Have a good weekend, folks, and take care, all of you lovely people.
Ngā mihi,
Nick.
This weekend marks the end of my 20% discount, but it remains available until tomorrow evening. If you value my writing and can contribute, please consider subscribing.
To end today, here’s the incredible Pink with 'Just like a Pill':
Yes - why has TOP started receiving so much publicity, after being moribund for two years? Is it paranoia or cynicism which makes me think that they are being positioned as a spoiler, to mop up antigovernment votes?
Sheesh, Nick! When I saw the headline, I thought YOU were in trouble. Here in Waikato, my not yet two-year-old moko had his referral to the dermatologist rejected. If you saw the photos, you would be horrified. The only dermatologist in the region has been at capacity for ages, so his GP had to play the game and sent the wee lad to hospital. Can't fault the staff and he is now in the system getting all the right follow up. Meanwhile, his Dad has been waiting months for the next step for his spinal surgery. On and on and on it goes.