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A woman from Nelson whose gut and ovaries have been fused with Endometriosis scar tissue says she was forced to become private after waiting for 19 months by a call from Nelson Hospital about a specialized consultation.
Aleisha Hosie, who was suffering from pain and severe bleeding, said her family received $ 500 for her to see a gynecologist and she also paid to have a particular hysterectomy last year.
She said she only received a call from Nelson Hospital two weeks ago about a specialized appointment – 19 months after seeking the help of her general practitioner.
Health New Zealand sent a crisis team to Nelson this week after several senior hospital doctors were public with their concerns about excessively long waiting times, under staff and lives being endangered.
Health NZ provisional data showed that nearly 500 patients on the obstetrics and gynecology waiting list is waiting for more time than those recommended four months for their first specialized appointment.
Hosie said she was initially informed that she would have an appointment within two months, but when she had not heard anything after five months, she called Nelson’s Gynecology department,
“I was suffering very severe pain all the time, and I was coming to the point where it was unbearable, and I was told that they were just seeing emergency cases or people who expected more than 365 days and basically I would not be seen within a year.”
She said she couldn’t wait so long.
“I thought I can’t wait another month, I need to see someone, and that’s when I approached the family and decided that we would finance ourselves to see a private gynecologist.”
Hosie had private surgery a year after her diagnosis and had not yet heard of the Nelson Hospital.
“After I had my surgery, I found that I had a very serious endometriosis, which was never caught in the public health system.
“My ovaries and uterus, my gut, were all cast by scar tissue, which was causing intense pain every month.
“So I was quite shocked, I didn’t know that. I never told me that this could be a problem. Never indicated through a scan or follow -up.”
Hosie said she finally received a call from Nelson Hospital two weeks ago.
“So that was 19 months after telling me that I would get the specialized consultation. And this is just for the first commitment, just for them to have the ball roll.
“But when is the follow -up consultation, it’s another year? I just thought this wasn’t happening.”
NZ’s NZ gate in Health, Martin Keogh, said it acknowledged that impact delays had in patients like Hosie and their families and apologized to the affected.
He said the Health NZ was doing his best to improve waiting times.
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