Norm Davies was admitted to Waikato Hospital five weeks ago after suffering a heart attack. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers
A patient at Waikato Hospital says he has waited more than a month for cardiac surgery - and has been told to expect at least another three-week wait.
Norm Davies suffered a heart attack five weeks ago and was rushed to Thames Hospital via ambulance and then onto Waikato Hospital.
The 71-year-old said he was admitted to hospital relatively quickly through the emergency department where doctors initially considered his case severe.
Davies, who has taken sick leave from his job, said tests to determine his condition were done speedily.
They revealed one artery was 90 percent blocked while two were 70 percent blocked, and he needed a triple bypass.
But exactly when the Coromandel man will get the surgery is uncertain.
"I mentioned to one of the doctors that they said it would be two weeks and he said 'you'd be lucky to get it done in six'.
"Obviously there's priorities. I think most of it comes back to the lack of space in intensive care."
Davies, who spoke to RNZ from his hospital bed, said doctors told him he would need at least a day of recovery in the intensive care unit before he transferred to a cardiac care ward.
He expected to be in hospital for at least one week post-surgery.
Davies worried he had another four-week wait ahead of him based on the wait time of two other patients he had come to know while sharing a room.
He claimed they waited 63 days, with one of the patients being bumped at the last minute.
Davies said he was so exhausted by a lack of sleep due to constant disruption that he threatened to leave.
"I said 'I've had enough. I've hit a wall, and I just wanna go home'. Anyway they've moved me to a quieter room and I'm only sharing that with one other person."
He was told if he discharged himself, he would go to the bottom of the waiting list if he had another heart attack that was non-life-threatening.
Despite the situation, Davies praised hospital staff for their care saying the delays were out of their control.
"They're understaffed. You know the nurses are doing a fantastic job with the amount of people they're trying to look after."
Norm Davies has praised the work of hospital staff, saying the delays are out of their control. Photo: RNZ / Simon Rogers
In December 2023, Waikato Hospital made an urgent call to intensivists in New Zealand and Australia to fill ICU vacancies that had contributed to cardiac surgery delays.
Health New Zealand said it could not confirm Davies' clinical details without a privacy waiver. Davies said he was happy to provide one but was unable to fill one out and send it back while in hospital.
Te Whatu Ora Waikato group operations director Michelle Sutherland said surgery waiting lists were managed according to clinical priority and urgency, and consequently there would be some delays for some patients.
"Achieving shorter wait times for surgery is one of Health New Zealand's top priorities," she said in a statement.
"Health NZ is addressing cardiac wait times specifically by engaging with private providers and ensuring the five districts who provide cardiac services are working together to identify strategies that address long wait lists.
"We continue to monitor waiting lists and maintain contact with patients, family and their GPs to ensure their clinical condition is reprioritised as required."
She said the average inpatient wait time for cardiac surgery at Waikato Hospital was 29 days.
"The wait list is constantly monitored. We reprioritise the most clinically urgent cases to ensure they receive treatment as quickly as possible."
Sutherland said the Health NZ cardiothoracic clinical network met fortnightly to manage access across the country, including ICU beds.