Listen
Photo: 123RF
Thousands of elective surgeries are being delayed every week that the nationwide level four lockdown continues.
Urgent surgery is still being carried out under alert level four but close to 90 per cent of surgeries are having to be put off.
Last year an estimated 30,000 people had their operations delayed in both the public and private sectors, due to the Covid-19 lockdown.
Kathryn speaks with Richard Whitney, the chief executive of Mercy Hospital in Dunedin and the president of the Private Surgical Hospitals Association.
The association represents the country's private hospitals, where over 62 percent of all elective surgeries are performed.