“Utterly abandoned” Doctors speak up for more investment in health | Manawatū Standard

Another stop on the Roady, another community speaking up about the state of public healthcare.

The Manawatū Standard covered our Palmerston North meeting, where Dr David Galler spoke about people feeling "utterly abandoned" by the health system after years of underinvestment.

He was joined by two senior local doctors, Dr Curtis Walker and Dr James Irwin.

Curtis described the crisis in Tararua as the canary in the coal mine, warning of overcrowded emergency departments, growing waiting lists and entire services disappearing. He also spoke about the inequities facing people who can't afford to pay for healthcare or live in communities where services are increasingly difficult to access.

James, who left his role as Palmerston North Hospital's last gastroenterology specialist, explained why he believes he can do more by speaking out for meaningful change than continuing to paper over the gaps. He also raised concerns about the difficulty of attracting doctors to regional hospitals where they may end up working in isolation.

Despite the challenges, David and Curtis believe change is possible, pointing to examples of communities advocating successfully for better healthcare.

The news article covering our roady stop in Palmerston North is behind a paywall, so we've shared some of the key points here. If you have a subscription, you can read the full story here.