Access to timely primary and hospital healthcare has significantly deteriorated. 

Health New Zealand's released a Clinical Quality and Safety Review - using data from the past decade.

It reveals numbers of people waiting more than four months to see a specialist tripled between 2020 and 2023. 

Chief clinical officer Richard Sullivan says Covid played a role and numbers are stabilising.

But he says there's a long way to go.

He also explained one target is 95 percent of patients waiting less than four months - but we're on about 60 percent, so improving that is a big focus.

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