New figures paint an alarming picture of the state of our health system

Ministry of Health data shows nearly 30-thousand New Zealanders are caught up in delays for hospital treatment.

Covid-19 recovery plans obtained by the Herald show dozens of services under severe stress, even before the pandemic.

Sarah Dalton of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says while covid will have made things worse, the backlog is partly from years of inaction.

She says there's a significant staffing shortage across the medical workforce, in nursing and allied health specialties.