Emergency waiting times getting worse

NewstalkZB reports:

Middlemore hospital has been undergoing a wait time crisis, with people being unable to receive medical care for hours after arrival.

This has become more apparent after a five page report was released that confirmed Middlemore hospital was dysfunctional, overcrowded, and unsafe. 

The problem is not just Middlemore. Only 77.2% of ED patients there get seen within six hours and nationally it is only 78.5%.

Labour came into office and effectively abolished the public health target of 95% of patients seen and treated within six hours, and long before Covid-19 they dropped away.

It is almost as bad now as when Labour were last in office. In 2008 only 70% of ED patients were seen within six hours. National got it to 95% by 2012. So in National’s first four years they took it from 70% to 95% and Labour have taken it from 95% to 78% (and still dropping).