Source: Radio New Zealand
It can take months to see a specialist in New Zealand. (File photo) PEAKSTOCK / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / AFP
Neurology patients are facing long wait times to see a specialist, with one woman getting a same day appointment as a tourist in France, then facing a four-month wait back home.
It comes as a new study from the University of Otago in Wellington shows neurologists would struggle to keep up with the increase in demand for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke.
One Southland woman, who didn’t want to be identified, was told it would be four months before she could see a neurologist in New Zealand, after she began having seizures on holiday in France.
Over there, even as a tourist, she said she was able to see a neurologist that same day, after her husband noticed something was amiss.
“I had a funny incident that he noted, and he wondered if I’d had a stroke or something, so he ended up taking me to the hospital there,” she said.
“They did MRIs and CTs and things, and they thought it was a TIA – a Transient Ischemic Attack, so they put me on medication for that.”
A TIA was also known as a mini-stroke.
But back home, the episodes continued – she said she would zone out for a few minutes, and then be left very confused for the next half hour.
She made an appointment with her GP, who referred her to a neurologist privately through health inurance, but the earliest appointment was January 2026 – four months away.
“I was really surprised, because I’d seen a neurologist in France much quicker. We did have to pay, but I don’t think it was too much – I think it was like a thousand dollars or something. It wasn’t astronomical.”
Her seizures were getting worse – up from one a week, to one every two days – and her GP redirected her through the public system.
She finally saw a local neurologist in November, who diagnosed her with epilepsy.
“They got me on medication, and I haven’t had a seizure since,” she said.
The University of Otago study found New Zealand ranked well below other high-income countries when it came to numbers, with 83 neurologists, public and private, as of the report’s time of writing in 2024.
That was one per 74,000 people – just over half that of Australia – and far below the recommended best practice level found by one Australian workforce model of one per 28,000 people.
David Ross, who lives in Huntly, said he was surprised by those numbers, he was referred to a neurologist in late January, and the first thing he received was a letter apologising for the wait time, which was seven weeks.
“And the idea, of course, of going private is that you might go through a bit quicker, but it looks like it’s not going to be.”
Nearly $600 to see someone privately, and a seven week wait – David nearly picked up the phone and said, “forget it”.
But he didn’t want to lose his place on the waitlist – and luckily, he wasn’t waiting in pain.
“It’s okay, I just need to get an opinion on what they recommend for my condition. It looks like Parkinson’s because I shake a bit sometimes, but other times, I’m fine.”
But it wasn’t getting any better, and he and his family would like some answers.
“It doesn’t give you a lot of confidence in the overall system.”
Neurologist Dr David Gow, a regional chief medical officer at Te Whatu Ora, said the national health agency was committed to giving New Zealanders timely access to healthcare and strengthening the workforce.
“We know that, as part of this, we need to grow our healthcare workforce, and this is not exclusive to neurology.”
Health targets like shorter wait times applied to neurology, as for all specialities.
“We value research papers like this one as they can be considered alongside our own workforce planning,” he said.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
