Emma Russell, Multimedia Journalist at New Zealand's Herald, uncovers health investigations and writes daily news following the country's biggest health system shake up and continued repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kia ora, I'm Emma. I'm really proud of two major investigations I've uncovered since starting at the New Zealand Herald in 2018. The first exposed inequalities in cancer care in a 2019 investigation called ‘Cancer: Why can’t we get it right?’. The second was a 2022 campaign called ‘In her Head’, which uncovered serious issues with how women are treated in New Zealand’s health system, and the severe neglect that some wāhine had faced. I also write daily news including following the country’s biggest health system shakeup and continued repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Growing up, I watched people I love struggle with their mental health, with them becoming stripped of a voice and left feeling powerless. I observed the role the media has to influence positive change. This led me to study journalism, with history and English, at the University of Canterbury and through a postgraduate diploma at Auckland University of Technology. I learnt about three key staples to journalism - holding powers to account, shining a light on injustices, and giving people a voice. Many of the stories I cover are harrowing and confronting. Those stories have stayed with me, but by sharing them we provoke meaningful conversation. To me, journalism is more than a job, it’s a privilege and one I am committed to never taking for granted
Doctors in distress: Fears more will die as staff struggle with stretched system
Brave widow Kate Harding shares her heartbreak of losing her husband to suicide.
NZ's suicide rates 'significantly lower' than previous years
The number of people lost to suicide has dropped by 90 deaths in the last two years.
'My potential babies': Former couple in frozen embryo fight
"I knew I had to just suck it up and give him what he wanted," mum tells.
Leaked letters reveal senior docs warning Middlemore unsafe to teach juniors
"It's a terrible space to be in and it speaks to their feelings that they are failing..."
'Every ED doctor is worried': Clinicians respond to scathing Middlemore Hospital report
South Auckland doctor describes the hospital's current state as a "sh** storm".
Medical student inserted IUD into disabled woman without consent
Health Commissioner: 'It is particularly disappointing that this issue is continuing'.
'He was just a skeleton of a baby': Family moves to Australia to save starving infant
Gideon's body started 'eating itself' to survive - 'He was essentially starving to death.'
'No such thing as too young for breast cancer': Mum fights to live for her kids
When it comes to breast cancer - 'don't wait like I did; your outcome might be better'.
'I don't know if my son will ever walk again': ACC declines support for blind toddler
Lawyer says this case raises an interesting issue about a disabled child who is injured.
'His foot was like a corpse': Toddler nearly dies after IV mishap
'It's terrible because if it had gone on for another hour, he might have been dead.'
Former All Black Dan Carter visits 'world's most at-risk country' for natural disasters
'They don't live with a lot but their gratitude, smiles, their energy was infectious.'
Alana Scott never expected kids after cancer. Groundbreaking surgery gives her hope
'It feels quite strange, I don't think I have fully taken it in that it's happening ...'
'I felt like I was failing as a mother': New mum $10k out of pocket after ACC snub
"Eventually I broke...I didn't want to be here anymore. I felt defeated, and quite alone."
'We love you': Widow's diary of husband's last months with cancer
"We all just kept saying "we love you" until he took his final breath..."
Room service with a side of bassinet, 5-star postnatal stay for $980 a night
Mums can now recuperate from childbirth dipping their toes in 5-star luxury.
Mum ate one meal a day, slept on hospital floors to afford son's cancer treatment
More and more families really hurting, says cancer society boss.
'We lost our dearest daughter': Investigation finds 'missed opportunities' to try save 6yo girl
'It was a disaster...we could not believe this happened in New Zealand,' mum says.
'Priscilla is a miracle': The woman not expected to recover - until she did
'You have to keep fighting the system ... I never gave up on Priscilla.'
'She is too young to die': Family take legal action after hospital advises to let 44yo mum die
Mum, 75, sits at daughter's bedside ready to do CPR - as hospital won't do it.
Mum looking at $12k bill to avoid surgical mesh treatment
If she opts for treatment using mesh it's free because her insurance company covers it.
'Completely unrelated': Mum gets breast cancer twice without warning
'These checks are so, so important. You have to look after yourself.'
Fit and healthy Kiwis dying unexpectedly from mysterious adult condition
So, what is this mysterious genetic condition and can it be prevented?
'Unbelievable': How Govt crackdown failed to protect women from surgical mesh harm
"It is unbelievable ... someone needs to take some accountability for this."
Surgical mesh: 38 more lives harmed after Govt warning to hospitals
Living on morphine, suicidal from "razor blade" pain and one women's vagina sewn closed.
'It needs to stop': Petition demands halt on surgical mesh for birth injuries
'Harm is happening all over the country.'
'Razor blade pain': Surgical mesh harm patient living on morphine, becoming suicidal
"Mesh harm is happening all over the country and it needs to stop."
'It's like a grater on raw wounds': Mum, 35, says mesh implant cripples her
"It makes me incredibly angry. I mentioned my hesitancy to mesh..." 35-year-old mum tells.
Healthcare crisis: Auckland patient 'left in own urine for 14 hours'
Nurses fear patients may die as hospitals battle crisis over workforce shortage.
Student nurse struck by patients and nearly brought to tears apologises for Tik Tok video
She said she had no idea what she was doing while caring for older patients.
'I thought my life was on the line': Young mum undergoes three surgeries after placenta left inside of her
'I was in extreme pain, it felt worse than when I was in labour'.
'Imploding' system: Long delays to urgent surgeries, patients sitting in urine
'Beds go unmade and patients not showered for days on end. Staff cry and work overtime.'
Parents given terminal cancer diagnosis weeks apart tell their love story
'It was her smile and her energy. It was effervescent really, she lit up the room.'
'Human cost of healthcare failure': Sick wait under leaking tent at North Shore ED
Babies as young as seven weeks waiting more than two hours outside in a tent.
Watch: Andrew Little dubs new health system 'beacon towards equity'
Health NZ and the Māori Health Authority will replace the country's 20 DHBs.
'We can be a voice for them': Green MP on 'heartbreaking' surgical mesh claims
MP's promise comes after Herald exposed investigation into claims women harmed by its use.
'I've been robbed of my life': Patient says surgical mesh used without consent
"I used to be fun and outgoing ... now I live on eight Tramadol a day."
'Rotting' surgical mesh leaves woman without a bladder
Sally Walker shared her harrowing experience with the Herald.
36,000 New Zealanders taking blood pressure pills urged to change treatments
Accuretic is a medicine generally used to manage blood pressure.
'I remember waking up screaming': Investigation into claims doctors harmed women with surgical mesh
Eight women say they never gave consent for surgical mesh to be implanted into their body.
'Horror stories': Beauty queen's warning after breast implant nightmare
The 34yo was waking up nearly every night in agony due to implants.
'Health crisis': Healthcare workers flood Toni Street with messages about stretched system
Workers are burnt out, working double shifts and moving to Australia for better pay.
62 patients in a day: GP driven to tears as 'health system falling to bits'
A North Shore doctor says he is waking up at 4am worried about his patients.
The 'frugal man' who left almost $4 million to health services
His family remember him bringing only a packet of marshmallows to Christmas.
Nearly all NZ hospitals failing to meet Govt's ED wait time targets
18 out of 20 DHBs didn't reach the 95 per cent of ED patients seen within six hour target.
'Healthy' 50yo woman dies with brain bleed. Delays at Middlemore Hospital's ED investigated
Delays lead to 'healthy' 50-year-old woman dying with brain aneurysm.
'I literally wouldn't be here if it wasn't for blood donations': Sisters' unique bond
Many times Hannah has feared she might not see her sister again.
Hospitals at 'level of panic': 71 patients waiting for beds at Middlemore
The South Auckland ED saw more than 420 patients for the second night in a row this week.
Winter bugs: Student outbreak of flu-like illnesses, vaccination coverage 'way too low'
With winter fast approaching, the Herald examines how we're tracking with illness so far.
'Like a dark blanket that covers your life': Depressed mum 'not critical enough' for support
"She looks at me and goes 'mummy do you not want me any more?'"
Surgical mesh: Report reveals restorative justice helpful for victims but action to protect others slow
The impact of the government's restorative justice for mesh has been examined.
Life-threatening endometriosis delays, surgery wait times up to three years
On average, women in NZ wait 8.7 years from onset symptoms to be formally diagnosed.
'We live in a man's world': NZ lags behind other countries in women's health
"When we look at systems of all sorts around the world we see inequality for women."
Doctors told her she was just overweight - turns out, she had ovarian cancer
'Something needs to change, you can't just push it away as women's problems.'
'Women let down by system': ACC pays out $27m to women harmed by health treatment
'There are so many areas that could be improved to better [women's] outcomes," GP says.
'Just part of being a woman': How our health system ignores and neglects female patients - and what can be done about it
'I kept thinking maybe I'm just being weak, maybe I just need to harden up...'
'I don't want to live my life in pain': Why Aleisha had a hysterectomy at age 22
"I didn't feel believed and felt like doctors thought I was over-exaggerating."
'I can't even walk properly': Mum's $30K loan for hysterectomy to end pain
Her pain was so bad she would regularly faint at work.
'Pain is seen as a weakness so you push it aside': Ex Olympian's endometriosis battle
"I started to think I was being dramatic or crazy," cycling champ says.
'I felt like I'd failed as a parent': Mum speaks out about traumatic births
Monique Cross says she was repeatedly dismissed by health professionals.
'I was treated like a drug-seeker': Mum goes undiagnosed for a decade
Emma says she was repeatedly sent home from ED feeling like no one believed her suffering.
'I did start to feel suicidal': Endometriosis patient's agonising wait for treatment
"Not because I wanted to die, but because the pain was so unbearable," 20-year-old says.
'Get pregnant, that'll fix your problems': Mum's endometriosis fight - for 20 years
Dallas was accused of being a drug seeker for repeatedly turning up to ED in pain.
'Feel like we're being punished': Nurses sent to MIQ hotels unable to get old jobs back
"We volunteered out of the generosity of and goodness of our hearts," MIQ nurse tells.
Hospitals backlog to be managed nationally in leadup to DHB reform
Nearly 30,000 New Zealanders were stuck in delays for hospital treatment in August
Up to 300 Kiwi women could have breast cancer and not know it
150 women could die of breast cancer they don't know they have...
'This cannot go on': Revealed - The biggest killer of pregnant women and new mums
Report calls for urgent changes to maternal health services.
'Game changer for women': Govt promises women's health strategy
Women, trans, inter-sex and non-binary people are slipping through the cracks.
'Drugged, punched and stalked': Almost half of hospitality staff have experienced or witnessed harassment
'When I worked in clubs we were regularly groped, touched, non-consensually kissed...'
Urgent call for regulation on alcohol, cigarettes and vape products sold through delivery services
Without appropriate oversight, home deliveries had the potential to increase harm - study.
First-time mum with Covid forced to give birth without partner
"What was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, I had to experience it alone..."
'Frightening': Women sexually abused as children tipped into menopause 11 years younger
"It's frightening to be honest, especially considering fertility and long-term problems."
Influx of Covid-infected pregnant women worried their baby isn't moving
Like any viral illness, if a pregnant woman is unwell the baby could move less.
Hospitals nationally offer cash rewards for staff working nights
Hospitals nationally are resorting to cash rewards to get staff to pick up night shifts.
'Certainly aren't in the all-clear': NZ never more at risk of catching Covid - expert
Half of those who will be infected with Covid-19 are yet to catch it, warns top expert.
Breaking point at hospitals: 'Patients waiting in corridors for 24hrs'
Omicron had been 'the straw that has broken the camel's back', top doctor says.
Exclusive: Exhausted nurses 'falling over each other' for nightly $500 Covid bonus
'We are so short staffed in every department that management are working on the floor.'
Meet the first NZer to legally use dried cannabis flower to treat pain
"Patients like me, we are not interested in getting high and feeling stoned..."
Omicron outbreak: Ambulance crews face record callouts - some waiting up to 12 hours
Ambulance staff being flown in from across the country to help deal with Omicron demand.
Surge in hospital Covid cases: Babies as young as 2 months old, elderly infected
The number of people infected with Covid-19 turning up to Middlemore Hospital increasing.
'Traumatised': Safety monitors designed to protect staff from cancerous chemical removed
'We could get cancer in ten years time and no one would have taken responsibility'.