Terminally-ill Vicki Letele has called for improvements in prison medical systems after she was released this week.
The Auckland mother-of-three, who is dying from stomach cancer, was eight months into her three-year prison sentence for fraud when she was released on compassionate grounds.
She had previously had her application to be released turned down, leading to a public outcry and the Department of Corrections to recommend the Parole Board let her leave prison.
Ms Letele told RadioLIVE Drive host Duncan Garner on Friday afternoon the medical area of Wiri Women's Prison, where she was an inmate, is "not fit".
"Trying to get seen by a doctor or trying to see a specialist - it seemed like it's the last resort," she says.
"You absolutely have to be bedridden before they do anything."
She says it took weeks for her to see a doctor.
"I'm very angry, I'm upset, and I believe a change needs to come in that area. I'm really upset that the prison hasn't acknowledged that they treated me like that.
"I want to do something for the treatment that was received in prison, to ensure it doesn't happen to someone else."
Ms Lelete is happy to be home so she can "get better - or as best as I can".
"I know that I'm only out, sitting in my own home today because of what people have done in the background," she says.
"The support's been amazing, it's really what's kept me going while I was inside."
She says from here on she really wants to enjoy every day she has.
Newshub.
