National is failing the health system and the people actually working in it are saying they cannot safely provide care. 

“Simeon Brown was wrong to tell New Zealanders this morning that the health system is performing,” Health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said. 

“People are waiting in hospital corridors. Nurses are striking because they say staffing is unsafe. Experienced clinicians are walking away. People aren't getting on waitlists in the first place. Staff are telling the Government they are in crisis. And research is showing the consequences of understaffing can be fatal. 

“This isn't Labour saying it. These are the people working in the health system saying it. 

“Simeon Brown has had three years to get the basics right. Instead he put a hiring freeze in place.

“Documents released last month showed Health NZ had operated tight controls on frontline recruitment, with vacancies requiring layers of approval. A PSA survey found 85 percent of respondents said unfilled roles were driving stress and burnout. 

“The Minister cannot keep blaming the flu, the previous Government or anyone else when the problems are showing up in hospitals and health services right now. He can blame himself, for only hiring 54 new nurses. 

“The health system doesn't exist on narrow targets on a spreadsheet in Simeon Brown's office. 

“It exists in Middlemore's emergency department. It exists in Gisborne. It exists in Waikato. It exists in Waitākere. It exists in Christchurch’s ED. It exists in Pāhiatua. 

And right now, the people working in those places are telling him something he doesn't want to hear: The system is under enormous pressure, staff are at breaking point, and patients are paying the price. 

“Simeon Brown has failed the health system. And today he has shown that he doesn't even have the honesty to admit it. 

“New Zealanders deserve a Health Minister who listens to the people delivering care, takes responsibility when things go wrong, and fixes the problems in front of him. We cannot afford another three years of National,” Ayesha Verrall said.