So, there’s this doctor duo, Art Nahill and Glenn Colquhoun, who took a little road trip from Kaitāia to Wellington to chat with folks about the health system in New Zealand. They were on a mission to uncover the deep-seated issues plaguing the system, and boy did they stumble upon some interesting insights.
One of the big concerns that kept popping up was the slow but steady move towards privatisation and the neglect that the health system has faced over the years. People were pretty vocal about their frustrations and anger towards the current state of affairs. From long wait times to limited access to healthcare providers, the grievances were aplenty.
Nahill and Colquhoun listened to stories of people waiting years to see a GP, only to find out that all the practices in their area had closed their doors. Imagine having to drive eight hours just to see a doctor – talk about dedication! But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. They also heard about some community organisations and iwi health providers doing their best to fill in the gaps left by the broken system.
The duo is now planning to gather a group of experts to come up with a new and improved health system that addresses the issues raised during their journey. It’s a long road ahead, but they’re hopeful that some positive change can come out of all this. And who knows, maybe a little poetry will come out of it too. After all, a little creativity never hurt anyone.