Belief health care is getting better - despite it now taking longer to access

Health New Zealand's revealed a marked decline in timely primary and hospital healthcare - in the past decade.

Numbers of people waiting more than four months to see a specialist - trebled between 2020 and 2023.

Royal College of GPs Medical Director Luke Bradford says there are some positives, once people access care.

He says there's been a decrease in surgical complications and better experiences had by patients in the system.