A huge backlog of people waiting for operations and specialist appointments has been revealed.
The number of patients waiting more than a year for treatments and for their first assessments from specialists has ballooned.
Te Whatu Ora has come up with 101 recommendations for itself to fix the problem.
Our healthcare system is struggling, something Michael Hall is well aware of. He waited eight long months to have his prostate cancer removed.
"The anxiety hit the roof, I was suffering with sleep deprivation that impacted on work and my outside life," Hall said.
He finally had surgery in August but still hasn't had a follow-up appointment - something that should happen within weeks.
"From the time you're diagnosed to after your treatment, there are flaws all the way through," Hall said.
And he's not alone. A taskforce charged with clearing the backlog of planned care created by COVID-19 found huge delays.
In March, 3723 patients had waited more than a year for treatment. In June, that number was 5555. And if you look at those waiting four months or more the numbers swell to 28,530.
"It's in dire shape, it really is," Hall said.
"There's no doubt there is pressure on the system," Health Minister Andrew Little said.
Pressure which will take time to clear. But the taskforce found the delays aren't just for treatment. For first specialist assessments, the number of people waiting more than four months has trebled since 2019 from 12,894 to 35,264. Those waiting more than a year increased from 253 to 4255.
"There is no silver bullet to address these issues, but this is a comprehensive plan," Te Whatu Ora chief executive Margie Apa said.
That plan came with 101 recommendations - a key one being greater consistency in care across the country.
Health New Zealand said the scrapping of DHBs will help with that by giving everyone the same access to care, regardless of where they live.
"We now are in the position where we can flex capacity without the bureaucracy that we used to face," Little said.
But the healthcare system still faces a huge task to ensure patients aren't left waiting.
