KEY POINTS:
A young Auckland man is demanding changes to the health system after suffering for 30 hours while waiting for treatment at Middlemore Hospital.
"It's s**t, absolute s**t," said 22-year-old Robert Notton after his three-day ordeal. "I never want to go through this again. It's unacceptable."
Cabinetmaker Notton's marathon wait started on Friday, November 14 when he was rushed to Middlemore's emergency department after cutting his index finger to the bone with a skilsaw.
He arrived at 2pm and was sent home at 6pm without treatment. Notton said he received no painkillers despite asking three times.
He returned the next day and waited from 7.30am until 6pm, before being sent home again. The following day he turned up at the hospital at 7.30am and was finally operated on at 11pm - a wait of 15 hours. He spent that entire day with another patient injured by a chainsaw and who was sent home without being treated.
"You shouldn't put someone in a 2m by 2m waiting room and leave them for 12 hours. It's like being in prison, but at least in prison you get Sky."
But Notton's ordeal was still not over. His hand became infected and he had to return to hospital on Thursday for another operation - preceded by a nine-hour wait.
Health Minister Tony Ryall said it was unacceptable for patients to be facing such long delays.
