By RNZ
The Nurses Organisation says many patients are waiting 24 hours or longer for a hospital bed, as pressure on the health system ramps up.
The union’s president Anne Daniels said hospital managers around the country were doing the best they could to support patients.
“Many, many patients are now waiting for 24 hours-plus for beds in the hospitals, and that puts them in a very unsafe position because they should be actually getting that specialist care rather than lingering in a corridor in the ED and the ED staff trying to do the best they can to care for them.”