A Timaru dentist says removing 100 teeth in a morning isn't unusual, while children as young as three need full dental clearances. This is what happens when prevention falls apart.

Nelson clinicians say patients are having to be increasingly sick to access hospital care. Health NZ says everyone who needs care gets it. Phew. That's reassuring.

Senior doctors have spoken out about the state of public healthcare, warning of disappearing services, growing inequities and the urgent need for investment.

Billions of taxpayer dollars flowing into private healthcare while public hospitals struggle. Sounds like a terrific plan, doesn't it?

Speaking at Kaitiaki Hauora's Save Our Public Healthcare Roady in Westport, Dr David Galler challenged the increasing reliance on private healthcare while public services are left struggling for staff and resources.

Wairarapa Hospital emergency department clinical head Dr Norman Gray also called for urgent, transformational change, saying the health system needed to take a giant leap to meet unmet need.

Speaking at Kaitiaki Hauora's Save Our Public Healthcare Roady, anaesthetist and ASMS president Dr Katie Ben described a hospital without enough beds, doctors or nurses. One patient waited eight hours in ED because there was no bed available after surgery.

Timaru’s ‘zombie hospital’: Worst ICU, best views, and thankfully, a freshly carpeted stairwell.

David Galler and Malcolm Mulholland are making their way from Bluff to Cape Reinga on the Save Our Public Health Roady.

Along the way, David's been keeping notes on the people they meet, the things they hear, and whatever else catches his attention.

We'll keep adding them here as the Roady heads north.

Gore Health receives $13 million less funding than its closest comparable rural hospital, as its chief executive warns: “You don’t want to get sick if you’re in the deep south.”

The Save Our Public Healthcare Roady stopped in Timaru, hearing from local health workers about growing pressure on the region’s health system and life on the frontline.

Gore Health chief executive Karl Metzler told the meeting he is seeing health professionals leave primary care because they’re fed up with a system that stops them getting their patients the care they need.

RNZ covers the launch of the Save Our Public Health Roady, as Malcolm Mulholland and David Galler set off to hear first-hand what’s happening in communities across Aotearoa.

The Roady is mere minutes away from kicking off in Invercargill!

Before Malcolm and David hit the first stop, catch them talking all things Roady with Bernard Hickey and Peter Bale on The Hoon.

The Save Our Public Health Roady is heading from Bluff to Cape Reinga, meeting communities and hearing what’s happening to healthcare around the motu. Find the full schedule, download your local meeting poster and help us spread the word.

Kaitiaki Hauora executive member Louisa Wall agrees that prevention matters, but it cannot be separated from equity, Te Tiriti, public investment and workforce capacity. Prevention means more than telling people to make healthier choices. It means creating the conditions that allow people to stay well, and properly funding the public health system that makes early intervention possible.

Hundreds of people at three community meetings with one clear message - Tararua wants safe, sustainable healthcare and a say in what happens next. Now, we wait for the findings of the audits before deciding what comes next.

Health NZ’s 380 additional frontline health roles are welcome. But after years of workforce pressure and services pushed to breaking point, New Zealand needs more than another scramble for staff. We need a workforce plan.

Hundreds of people have turned out to public meetings in Pahiatua and Woodville to hear what’s happening with local health services, ask questions and share their experiences, with the final Tararua meeting to be held in Dannevirke tomorrow night.

Six more staff have resigned from Tararua Health Group as Patient Voice Aotearoa and Kaitiaki Hauora prepare to hold public meetings in Pahiatua, Woodville and Dannevirke this week.

Patients shared what happens when our health system fails to keep people safe. Health workers spoke about the pressure inside the system. Then we questioned political parties directly about what needs to change. Watch the Patient Safety Forum and catch up on the coverage.