As many of you know, Saturdays, or Satireday as I used to call them, were usually when I’d post something light-hearted and satirical if the week had given me enough material to poke fun at. I’ve decided to ease up on doing them regularly, mainly because too many people seem to miss the satire completely, and honestly, I end up feeling second-hand embarrassment for them.
So instead, I’m thinking Saturdays could be reserved for subscriber stories like this one. This publication reaches hundreds of thousands of readers each month, so if you’ve got a story you’d like to share and can give me the details I need to build it properly, I’ll publish it. You can choose to stay anonymous, or I can include your Substack handle or socials if you’d like. Just send me a private message - this is open to all my paid Subscribers.
Not only that, if I publish your story, I'll give you an extra three months of paid subscription free,
What a fantastic deal (as Donald J. Trump would call it). Thank you Matua. Love how your new subscriber stories opens up topics of conversation that affect many Kiwi's.
Thank you to everyone who commented here. And a very special thank you to Matua Kahurangi for publishing my story, and, gifting me 3 months membership! All of your kind thoughts and shared experiences touched me deeply. I felt great sadness too when reading the experiences of so many others who have been through even worse situations than I have. I honestly felt somewhat selfish after having complained about what I went through at Waikato Hospital. But a problem shared is a problem halved they say, and I certainly benefitted mentally from doing this.
Something I forgot to let Matua Kahurangi know was that there were 2 tv screens in the large space that forms the Waikato Hospital A & E waiting area. (I must note here that they have more than doubled this area since I last had to visit there, and this made me question why they significantly increased the number of chairs for people waiting to be seen by a doctor but they did not increase the number of beds for people waiting to be treated by a doctor. Answer to this one I concluded was because there is a dire shortage of doctors working in our state hospitals).
One of the abovementioned tv screens repeated a written message every couple of minutes that tried to describe what an "emergency" case might look like (e.g. a bone sticking out of flesh ... duh!), and, then went on to inform viewers that they could ask for a voucher at the front / reception desk for an external (privately owned and operated) A & E in Hamilton (the clinic was not named but there is only one in this city that is open 24x7).
No-one approached the front / reception desk to ask for a voucher during the 3 hours* I was seated, in a very uncomfortable wheelchair, in the A & E waiting area. Which got me thinking that the free vouchers ought to be handed out - not merely offered through a tv screen message - to those who arrive at the Waikato Hospital A & E and are subsequently triaged as Category 5 (according to a Google search this is "Chronic or minor condition. Can be assessed and treated within two hours" - * my wait exceeded three hours so a 50% increase in waiting time). According to my calculations that would really hasten the speed at which genuine (Category 1, 2, 3 and 4) cases are seen by a doctor. In this regard I plan to ask Waikato Hospital - through an OIA request - how many of the A & E patients have been triaged as Category 5, and, how many requests have been made for vouchers, over certain time-frames. Watch this space for their response.
Another point is I immediately sent an e-mail message to my GP after arriving home following my self-discharge. I had given the St John ambulance people a list of the blood tests I believed would shed at least some light on may be contributing to, if not causing, my distressing symptoms, and, one of them had used his mobile to take a snapshot of this document which was then handed over to the A & E triage Nurse after I got taken into the hospital building following a 35 minute ambulance wait outside. I referred to that list, and repeated the blood test names, when I was wheeled into a small private room by a Nurse that was just off to one side of the A & E waiting area, and, where I was told she wanted to do blood tests. I asked which ones and was told PTH (parathyroid gland) and Calcium. I had surgery in February this year to remove 3 of the (normally) 4 from my neck, and, have had check ups since then to ensure that aforementioned blood test levels are okay ... which they have been. I told the blood test Nurse this and that there was a list of blood tests, etc. handed over to the A & E triage Nurse by St John. I also again named them. She refused to do any one of them, did not go back to the doctor who had seemingly ordered the PTH and Calcium ones with this new information, and went ahead with only the two aforementioned tests. In other words, she made a decision that she was not qualified to make!
My GP did an urgent blood test form for me the following morning. He, gratefully, included all of the ones I had repeatedly said I believed would be helpful. The results were:
1. Albumin = Low
2. Creatinine - High
3. Ferritin = Low
4. Haemoglobin = Low
5. HCT = Low
6. B12 = Low
The "cherry on the top" was being told before I self-discharged that my PTH test result showed a "Low" and finding out from the blood tests that my GP this was not the case at all. My husband was standing right beside me when a Nurse told me this result. He, like me, has very clear recall of what she said.
Doctors and Nurses who do not listen to patients are, in my opinion, dangerous people. Had I not been as unwell as I am I would have argued the point about the blood tests but I simply did not have the physical or mental stamina to do this. My dear departed Father used to say; "Doctors bury their mistakes". Today I think this is more a case of "Doctors and Nurses bury their mistakes" since so much responsibility is heaped on Nurses.
In conclusion, it is pointless complaining to the Health and Disability Commissioner because not only is this agency swamped with complaints from justifiably aggrieved patients but this office is a "toothless dog" since it has no authority to order any sort of changes to be made, much less grant compensation to victims of a health system that is itself in need of urgent resuscitation.
Whangarei hospital waiting room is the same full of noisy ignorant people. My sister and i were insulted by 2 maori women screaming out white privledge as my name was called out after a long wait. The same rude entitled pos was calling the woman at reception a fn white cnut because she wouldnt give her a mask. How maori can say they are disadvantaged is beyond me when they start demanding service by insults,intimidation and threats. Aparthied is alive in nz
too many ferals, poor doers and cheapskates treat A&E as their free gp visits. often for the most stupid of things that dont require medical attention or caused by their poor lifestyles and diets theyll never change anyways.
free doctor visits may clear some of the trash from emergency waiting rooms but itll just cause further clogs in at gp clinics and then theyll go back to A&E... after all, an 8hr wait there is still quicker then a 5week wait to see a gp.
all labours policy does is envoke feels but offers no solutions. money would be better spent hiring thousands of doctors and nurses and not frittering it away on "free" doctor visits to non existent doctors.
It feels like we’re in some third world country. We aren’t, our govt spends our money on bullshit Kapa haka or sends it to countries on the other side of the planet as ‘aid’ while our population begs for the most basic of health care. Three free GP visits are a waste of $$ when the real problem is up the line in hospitals. These tragic stories of non existent health care need telling, citizens need to be prepared to fight for their rights.
This Thursday I had my second shot at having my hip replacement surgery. First appointment was Oct 9th after a three year wait. I have severe oesteo arthritis in both hips.
In both cases I got my household in order in the preceding weeks (I have an autistic adult son who works part time but requires me to transport him to work with his tools - of course he could just sit on a benefit but that has never been an option we as a family contemplated) the stress of organising things for a 4-6wk incapacity- twice now…is beginning to take its toll. I had heart surgery for atrial tachycardia in April this year…after a two year wait.
So my Oct 30th second appointment was postponed to Nov 13th due to there being no beds with Whakatane hospital over run by acute patients.
So we go through this all again in just under two weeks.
I can barely walk now and therefore besides not being able to return to work it’s getting harder to keep my son working.
The burden of this collapse of our health system ripples through the whole of society… the cost growing exponentially.
I have an awesome support network - have or had great health (the heart issue resolved) - what hell do some less fortunate do??
It’s like a pile up on the autobahn.. a slow motion collapse that we can do nothing about.
I've had similar situations when taking my husband to A&E Tauranga. I've always said take me over the hill to Waikato if I'm really sick, but maybe not.... my experience it has been the kiwi nurses that have treated us appallingly. My husband was told he wasn't in real pain, or 'can't you see how busy we are?'. The waiting room was full of a handful of patients and loads of their family eating and being noisy. I've seen a young man eating a stinking pie while sitting under the 'no eating ' sign while another couple were having a picnic. I had hubby there because he'd been vomiting for over 24 hours. We left in the end and proceeded to both vomit for a further 48 hours at home. I thought I might die at home it was so bad.
Another time some staff came out and offered only the maori patients food and a drink. The elderly maori man was embarrassed and offered his sandwich around.
How much of this issue is down to the culture in our public hospitals??
That’s an awful situation to be in - going home thinking you might die because you couldn’t see a doctor or nurse. And when staff start offering food and drink only to Māori patients, that’s when people should be recording what’s happening. Still, the last thing anyone wants to do while unwell is pull out a phone and hit the record button.
💯. Funny thing was (well not really funny), my friend had a similar vomiting issue in New Plymouth and the hospital there immediately put him into a separate room and gave him fluids. The stark contrast of care was infuriating. It really is a weird one with the health sector. Thank you for writing these articles. They give people a voice!
Yeah, it’s definitely strange how differently hospitals operate. I was thinking about it last week and decided to shift my Saturday posts to focus on sharing other people’s stories. Almost everyone has a story worth telling, but not everyone wants to post it on social media or Substack, worried about being cancelled, their employer seeing it, or facing abuse. With this publication growing steadily, it feels like the right time to open it up and give my paid subscribers the chance to have their stories heard.
My DMs are open, and it looks like there’s a Subscriber Story slot available on 22nd November. You’re more than welcome to share your story if you’d like.
I think a lot of people head straight to the hospital in South Auckland for the smallest issues, often because they want to avoid paying A&E fees. The last time I went to an A&E was on a Sunday a few years ago, and it set me back around $140. I could barely afford it at the time, but I went anyway. Time is precious, and the last thing I wanted was to spend eight hours in A&E just to be handed some antibiotics, a prescription, and advice to rest for a few days.
Why aren’t they charging people if they present with non urgent symptoms? Try our local urgent care - between 4 and 7 hours. Wait til the parents arrive from overseas, they are one super weak race
Sons broken collar bone ... sat in A&E for 13 hours, xray after 10.5hrs, no pain meds offered the whole time, finslly saw Dr to be told .. yep it's broken, here's a flimsy white sling and a prescription for 2 boxes tramadol. After 2 days suffering in pain, he went to sports physio who strapped his shoulder to give support and showed him some simple exercises to strengthen his muscles around break. Never took the tramadol, only used panadol for pain relief prior to seeing physio. Healed rapidly once it was starpped.
Other son went to Drs and sent straight to A&E for suspected appendicitis .. 14 hr wait before seen and admitted, no meds - in agony.
Honestly, there have been so many heartbreaking stories shared since I posted this article, both here and on X. I’m really sorry to hear about what your boys went through.
As many of you know, Saturdays, or Satireday as I used to call them, were usually when I’d post something light-hearted and satirical if the week had given me enough material to poke fun at. I’ve decided to ease up on doing them regularly, mainly because too many people seem to miss the satire completely, and honestly, I end up feeling second-hand embarrassment for them.
So instead, I’m thinking Saturdays could be reserved for subscriber stories like this one. This publication reaches hundreds of thousands of readers each month, so if you’ve got a story you’d like to share and can give me the details I need to build it properly, I’ll publish it. You can choose to stay anonymous, or I can include your Substack handle or socials if you’d like. Just send me a private message - this is open to all my paid Subscribers.
Not only that, if I publish your story, I'll give you an extra three months of paid subscription free,
What a fantastic deal (as Donald J. Trump would call it). Thank you Matua. Love how your new subscriber stories opens up topics of conversation that affect many Kiwi's.
Thank you to everyone who commented here. And a very special thank you to Matua Kahurangi for publishing my story, and, gifting me 3 months membership! All of your kind thoughts and shared experiences touched me deeply. I felt great sadness too when reading the experiences of so many others who have been through even worse situations than I have. I honestly felt somewhat selfish after having complained about what I went through at Waikato Hospital. But a problem shared is a problem halved they say, and I certainly benefitted mentally from doing this.
Something I forgot to let Matua Kahurangi know was that there were 2 tv screens in the large space that forms the Waikato Hospital A & E waiting area. (I must note here that they have more than doubled this area since I last had to visit there, and this made me question why they significantly increased the number of chairs for people waiting to be seen by a doctor but they did not increase the number of beds for people waiting to be treated by a doctor. Answer to this one I concluded was because there is a dire shortage of doctors working in our state hospitals).
One of the abovementioned tv screens repeated a written message every couple of minutes that tried to describe what an "emergency" case might look like (e.g. a bone sticking out of flesh ... duh!), and, then went on to inform viewers that they could ask for a voucher at the front / reception desk for an external (privately owned and operated) A & E in Hamilton (the clinic was not named but there is only one in this city that is open 24x7).
No-one approached the front / reception desk to ask for a voucher during the 3 hours* I was seated, in a very uncomfortable wheelchair, in the A & E waiting area. Which got me thinking that the free vouchers ought to be handed out - not merely offered through a tv screen message - to those who arrive at the Waikato Hospital A & E and are subsequently triaged as Category 5 (according to a Google search this is "Chronic or minor condition. Can be assessed and treated within two hours" - * my wait exceeded three hours so a 50% increase in waiting time). According to my calculations that would really hasten the speed at which genuine (Category 1, 2, 3 and 4) cases are seen by a doctor. In this regard I plan to ask Waikato Hospital - through an OIA request - how many of the A & E patients have been triaged as Category 5, and, how many requests have been made for vouchers, over certain time-frames. Watch this space for their response.
Another point is I immediately sent an e-mail message to my GP after arriving home following my self-discharge. I had given the St John ambulance people a list of the blood tests I believed would shed at least some light on may be contributing to, if not causing, my distressing symptoms, and, one of them had used his mobile to take a snapshot of this document which was then handed over to the A & E triage Nurse after I got taken into the hospital building following a 35 minute ambulance wait outside. I referred to that list, and repeated the blood test names, when I was wheeled into a small private room by a Nurse that was just off to one side of the A & E waiting area, and, where I was told she wanted to do blood tests. I asked which ones and was told PTH (parathyroid gland) and Calcium. I had surgery in February this year to remove 3 of the (normally) 4 from my neck, and, have had check ups since then to ensure that aforementioned blood test levels are okay ... which they have been. I told the blood test Nurse this and that there was a list of blood tests, etc. handed over to the A & E triage Nurse by St John. I also again named them. She refused to do any one of them, did not go back to the doctor who had seemingly ordered the PTH and Calcium ones with this new information, and went ahead with only the two aforementioned tests. In other words, she made a decision that she was not qualified to make!
My GP did an urgent blood test form for me the following morning. He, gratefully, included all of the ones I had repeatedly said I believed would be helpful. The results were:
1. Albumin = Low
2. Creatinine - High
3. Ferritin = Low
4. Haemoglobin = Low
5. HCT = Low
6. B12 = Low
The "cherry on the top" was being told before I self-discharged that my PTH test result showed a "Low" and finding out from the blood tests that my GP this was not the case at all. My husband was standing right beside me when a Nurse told me this result. He, like me, has very clear recall of what she said.
Doctors and Nurses who do not listen to patients are, in my opinion, dangerous people. Had I not been as unwell as I am I would have argued the point about the blood tests but I simply did not have the physical or mental stamina to do this. My dear departed Father used to say; "Doctors bury their mistakes". Today I think this is more a case of "Doctors and Nurses bury their mistakes" since so much responsibility is heaped on Nurses.
In conclusion, it is pointless complaining to the Health and Disability Commissioner because not only is this agency swamped with complaints from justifiably aggrieved patients but this office is a "toothless dog" since it has no authority to order any sort of changes to be made, much less grant compensation to victims of a health system that is itself in need of urgent resuscitation.
Whangarei hospital waiting room is the same full of noisy ignorant people. My sister and i were insulted by 2 maori women screaming out white privledge as my name was called out after a long wait. The same rude entitled pos was calling the woman at reception a fn white cnut because she wouldnt give her a mask. How maori can say they are disadvantaged is beyond me when they start demanding service by insults,intimidation and threats. Aparthied is alive in nz
too many ferals, poor doers and cheapskates treat A&E as their free gp visits. often for the most stupid of things that dont require medical attention or caused by their poor lifestyles and diets theyll never change anyways.
free doctor visits may clear some of the trash from emergency waiting rooms but itll just cause further clogs in at gp clinics and then theyll go back to A&E... after all, an 8hr wait there is still quicker then a 5week wait to see a gp.
all labours policy does is envoke feels but offers no solutions. money would be better spent hiring thousands of doctors and nurses and not frittering it away on "free" doctor visits to non existent doctors.
It feels like we’re in some third world country. We aren’t, our govt spends our money on bullshit Kapa haka or sends it to countries on the other side of the planet as ‘aid’ while our population begs for the most basic of health care. Three free GP visits are a waste of $$ when the real problem is up the line in hospitals. These tragic stories of non existent health care need telling, citizens need to be prepared to fight for their rights.
KC my heart goes out to you.
This Thursday I had my second shot at having my hip replacement surgery. First appointment was Oct 9th after a three year wait. I have severe oesteo arthritis in both hips.
In both cases I got my household in order in the preceding weeks (I have an autistic adult son who works part time but requires me to transport him to work with his tools - of course he could just sit on a benefit but that has never been an option we as a family contemplated) the stress of organising things for a 4-6wk incapacity- twice now…is beginning to take its toll. I had heart surgery for atrial tachycardia in April this year…after a two year wait.
So my Oct 30th second appointment was postponed to Nov 13th due to there being no beds with Whakatane hospital over run by acute patients.
So we go through this all again in just under two weeks.
I can barely walk now and therefore besides not being able to return to work it’s getting harder to keep my son working.
The burden of this collapse of our health system ripples through the whole of society… the cost growing exponentially.
I have an awesome support network - have or had great health (the heart issue resolved) - what hell do some less fortunate do??
It’s like a pile up on the autobahn.. a slow motion collapse that we can do nothing about.
Hang in there KC 🫶🌹
You hang in there too, Skarlett, and I hope your health improves soon. Wishing you the best of luck for your appointment on the 13th!
Your erudite posts keep me informed and engaged sweetheart…we will get there
Thank you
I've had similar situations when taking my husband to A&E Tauranga. I've always said take me over the hill to Waikato if I'm really sick, but maybe not.... my experience it has been the kiwi nurses that have treated us appallingly. My husband was told he wasn't in real pain, or 'can't you see how busy we are?'. The waiting room was full of a handful of patients and loads of their family eating and being noisy. I've seen a young man eating a stinking pie while sitting under the 'no eating ' sign while another couple were having a picnic. I had hubby there because he'd been vomiting for over 24 hours. We left in the end and proceeded to both vomit for a further 48 hours at home. I thought I might die at home it was so bad.
Another time some staff came out and offered only the maori patients food and a drink. The elderly maori man was embarrassed and offered his sandwich around.
How much of this issue is down to the culture in our public hospitals??
I hope KC is getting the care she needs. ❤️
That’s an awful situation to be in - going home thinking you might die because you couldn’t see a doctor or nurse. And when staff start offering food and drink only to Māori patients, that’s when people should be recording what’s happening. Still, the last thing anyone wants to do while unwell is pull out a phone and hit the record button.
💯. Funny thing was (well not really funny), my friend had a similar vomiting issue in New Plymouth and the hospital there immediately put him into a separate room and gave him fluids. The stark contrast of care was infuriating. It really is a weird one with the health sector. Thank you for writing these articles. They give people a voice!
Yeah, it’s definitely strange how differently hospitals operate. I was thinking about it last week and decided to shift my Saturday posts to focus on sharing other people’s stories. Almost everyone has a story worth telling, but not everyone wants to post it on social media or Substack, worried about being cancelled, their employer seeing it, or facing abuse. With this publication growing steadily, it feels like the right time to open it up and give my paid subscribers the chance to have their stories heard.
I should tell you my story about northland police. But that is a tale for another day. 😊
My DMs are open, and it looks like there’s a Subscriber Story slot available on 22nd November. You’re more than welcome to share your story if you’d like.
They’re talking about building another hospital in Sth Auckland, why? We can’t even staff the ones we have.
I think a lot of people head straight to the hospital in South Auckland for the smallest issues, often because they want to avoid paying A&E fees. The last time I went to an A&E was on a Sunday a few years ago, and it set me back around $140. I could barely afford it at the time, but I went anyway. Time is precious, and the last thing I wanted was to spend eight hours in A&E just to be handed some antibiotics, a prescription, and advice to rest for a few days.
Why aren’t they charging people if they present with non urgent symptoms? Try our local urgent care - between 4 and 7 hours. Wait til the parents arrive from overseas, they are one super weak race
That would cut waiting times down!
Sons broken collar bone ... sat in A&E for 13 hours, xray after 10.5hrs, no pain meds offered the whole time, finslly saw Dr to be told .. yep it's broken, here's a flimsy white sling and a prescription for 2 boxes tramadol. After 2 days suffering in pain, he went to sports physio who strapped his shoulder to give support and showed him some simple exercises to strengthen his muscles around break. Never took the tramadol, only used panadol for pain relief prior to seeing physio. Healed rapidly once it was starpped.
Other son went to Drs and sent straight to A&E for suspected appendicitis .. 14 hr wait before seen and admitted, no meds - in agony.
Honestly, there have been so many heartbreaking stories shared since I posted this article, both here and on X. I’m really sorry to hear about what your boys went through.