A doctor works on a patient in a surgery. Photo: UnSplash/ JC Gellidon
It's less than a month since Simeon Brown was announced as the new Minister of Health, replacing Shane Reti after little more than a year.
The Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon said he wanted a "ruthless focus on execution in health" and was looking to Simeon Brown due to his record for delivering.
Health NZ is running under a Commissioner after the Board was sacked and in the latest upheaval the CEO Margie Apa has stepped down early.
Under the previous Minister, Health NZ has been trying to contain a budget blowout and at the end of last year, Shane Reti said they'd reduced the deficit for 2024/25.
But it still sits at $1.1 billion down from a previously predicted $1.76 billion and further cost savings are likely.
Progress on the government's five health targets is slow and critics continue to point to underfunding.
In emergency departments, complaints about waiting times and staffing crises continue and GPs in some areas struggle to take on new patients.
To get a sense of what those on the frontline are hoping for from the new Minister, Kathryn speaks to Dr Michael Connelly an emergency doctor and the New Zealand Deputy Chair of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and the President of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners Dr Samantha Murton.
