Koby Brown, who went blind in one eye because of the crisis in the southern ophthalmology service, has started a new life as a farm worker.
Two days into his new job on a Mataura farm, he was inundated with calls from the media after the story broke that thousands of patients in Otago and Southland had been notified they were affected by the waiting-list crisis.
For the 22-year-old, it was old news, but he is still waiting for answers about what happened.
"I’m not as angry as I was, but I’m not very impressed about it still.‘‘I was pretty livid when I was last talking to [the ODT].
"I’ve sort of come to the conclusion that I can’t do anything about it now.
"It’s not like they can give me a new eye. They stuffed up — that’s all there is to it."
The Health and Disability Commissioner is investigating Mr Brown’s complaint about the Southern District Health Board. The SDHB also investigated what happened, and it accepted responsibility, but gave "silly excuses", Mr Brown said.
His case was part of the SDHB’s 2015-16 adverse events report released yesterday. And the board has embarked on another investigation of what went wrong, this time commissioning a bulk external review of the cases.
Mr Brown has little faith in the health board.
"I don’t believe anything they say these days because half of it isn’t true.‘‘I don’t think they have disclosed everything that they should.
"To me, I don’t know, it would be nice to know a wee bit more."
For several months, he was out of work, "just about at breaking point". Now, life is looking up, but it is hard sometimes. Simple things, like picking up a coffee cup or a pen, require concentration. It affects his sense of direction.
"It’s not too bad. It’s getting better and better."
He is immersed in the daily activity of the farm and one of his tasks when the Otago Daily Times visited this week was calf weighing.
"It sometimes takes me longer to do stuff."
Mr Brown, who had juvenile glaucoma, a hereditary condition, repeatedly asked for his regular checkup at Southland Hospital last year, and was told to be "patient" by a receptionist while he lost the sight in his right eye. He will not go back to Southland Hospital for the crucial checkups.
Instead, he is seen at Dunedin Hospital.
Although the crisis affects both hospitals, Mr Brown has more confidence in Dunedin Hospital.
"I’ve given up on Invercargill, to be honest."
"I prefer Dunedin because it seems to me that they cope with the workload a bit better," Mr Brown said.
"Every time I had an appointment in Southland, the waiting area was packed with patients."
But he is well aware the Dunedin department is in difficulty, and has overheard other patients, mostly older people, receive bad news.
"There’s quite a few times I went [to Dunedin Hospital] they were saying [to other patients]: ‘Just because of delays, your eyesight’s been compromised’."
The former forestry worker was not surprised when the story broke last week that thousands of patients had had to be notified about the delays.
"I’ve had countless numbers of [reporters] ringing me."
Mr Brown is no publicity seeker. When the ODT interviewed him in January, he agreed to tell his story but declined, at that stage, to be photographed. He had worked in forestry for six years before his sight loss.
"I could have continued, but it was quite hard to do with the one eye," Mr Brown said.
SDHB chief medical officer Dr Nigel Millar said he accepted there was a public perception the board lacked openness and transparency. He said it was never the board’s intention to make inaccurate statements, and the board would demonstrate how seriously it was taking the problem with the robust independent review it had commissioned.
