A Dunedin resident has slammed the Southern health system for leaving him to wear a "medieval torture device" indefinitely, as urology waiting lists continue to climb.
This comes as Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ) Southern appears to have pushed back the date for a mega clinic that had been intended to tackle wait lists later this month.
The man, who did not wish to be named, said he was fitted with a temporary catheter after a major operation at Dunedin Hospital early last November.
The device — a small tube placed in the bladder to drain urine — might not be necessary four months on, in which case he was suffering for no reason, he said.
Although his doctor had followed up with the urology department to make sure his case was on file, communication from HNZ had been almost non-existent.
He was informed he was on a wait list to see a urologist in December, but had not been updated since and did not know how long he would have to wait while wearing what felt like a medieval torture device.
"What concerns me is that there might be nothing wrong with me but here I am being forced to wear this intrusive and extremely uncomfortable device," he said.
"After paying taxes for over 55 years I expect better for my hard-earned money."
The "ridiculous" wait was not something politicians or wealthy people who could afford medical insurance would put up with, he said.
New Zealanders were too laid-back and needed to protest for changes to be made.
It was difficult to think of a solution, but a bonding scheme to keep New Zealand-trained medical specialists in the country for a set amount of years before leaving to work overseas could help, he said.
Figures provided by HNZ Southern on Thursday week showed there were 416 people on the waiting list for a first specialist appointment with a urologist.
The figure had increased from 395 in January, and from 306 last October.
The mean wait time for a consultation was now 146 days, also an increase compared to January’s mean wait time of 141 days.
HNZ Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown said on Thursday it was usual to see an increase in waiting list figures across services after the Christmas holiday period.
Asked if there was a message for anyone waiting in pain, he said patients who had a change in their condition or who wanted more information about their referral to a specialist should speak to their GP in the first instance.
"We are committed to providing quality healthcare services to the community we serve and we would encourage the patient to give feedback directly to us via feedback@southerndhb.govt.nz"
Recruitment has been an ongoing problem for the department, which has not had a fully staffed team of urologists since March 2022.
This has resulted in struggling services — for example, in January HNZ Southern wrote to another man informing him that he should been seen by a urologist, but they could not offer him an appointment because there were too many more urgent cases on the waiting list.
In January the hospital had two urologists, and was recruiting for another 1.8 full-time equivalents (FTE), as reported by the ODT.
At the time planning had been under way aimed at holding a urology mega clinic in late March, with the help of specialists from throughout the country.
Asked earlier this week if this was on track, Mr Brown said planning continued for a mega clinic "this year".
"A date has not been confirmed at this stage."
He did not respond to the question of how many FTE urologists the department currently had, but a communications department spokesperson said the figure had not changed.
