A long awaited report into the safety and quality of healthcare has found that overall access to care at both primary and hospital level has deteriorated.
The report, ordered by outgoing health commissioner Lester Levy, also found an increase in death rates in patients who left a emergency department's without being seen.
There was also worsening in the number of patients waiting more than four months for specialist treatment.
Lester Levy says he wanted a transparent benchmark as a higher quality and more sustainable health system is built.
However the report does not address safe staff ratios. Kathryn speaks to Virginia Mills, interim policy and research director for the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, and Paul Goulter the chief executive of the NZ Nurses Organisation.
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