A senior journalist says Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall is making the "right noises" but more needs to be done to improve New Zealand's health system.
Health Minister Ayesha Verrall sat down with Newshub Nation's Rebecca Wright on Friday to address nationwide concerns about hospital emergency department wait times.
During the interview, Verrall said she was "not happy about the wait times". When asked what she was doing to address the staffing shortfall, Verrall referred to the 1700 additional doctors and 4000 additional nurses added to the workforce since 2017.
Stuff senior journalist Andrea Vance told Newshub Nation on Saturday Verrall is "making all the right noises" but said she wasn't inspired by the interview.
"I didn't get a lot from that interview, to be honest. I mean she said all the right things and I suppose if you're being fair she's new to the job," Vance said.
"However, there's a collective responsibility in Cabinet. A lot of these problems are long-standing, they haven't been solved, just because we have a new minister doesn't mean they're going to be immediately solved.
"She's got a good heart and her heart is in the right place but if you're sitting in ED at the moment waiting 6, 7, 8 hours and your child is sick. If you're struggling to access mental health services, none of the things she said will be of any help to you or inspire any confidence."
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