Prominent community worker Dave Letele has slammed the health system, claiming an obese Upper Hutt man was essentially sent home to die.
Health New Zealand's chairperson Rob Campbell has admitted they failed the man but is adamant the system is changing for the better.
This is Tyson Harwood's bedroom.
"This is all I have, it's f***ing miserable," he said.
His floorboards are rotting away and his bed is falling apart.
"It's really uncomfortable for me to sleep, to exist right now. It's really difficult."
The 33-year-old is severely obese and was sent back here after 80 days in hospital.
"I'm just in freefall, I don't know what to do," he added.
Community leader and life coach Dave Letele - aka Brown Buttabean - heard about Harwood's situation and arrived to check it out within two days.
"I was sad and angry that someone has been sent home from hospital to that," he said.
"I was there on Monday before anyone from the health system had showed up, before any social worker, before any health coach was there to help him. He didn't even know how much insulin he was supposed to take. He's got type 2 diabetes, he's got no idea what his meds are... just basically left to die."
Since Letele's visit, Harwood's been sent back to hospital and he could be there for up to three months.
In that time Letele is vowing to fix up his room and get him a proper bed at an estimated $12,000.
Much of it's coming from Letele's own pocket with donations from people who have offered to help.
"He's not trying to blame everyone else, he understands that he's gotten himself into this situation but yes, the health system has failed Tyson and the scary thing is he's not alone," Letele said.
That's something Health NZ chair Rob Campbell agrees with.
"The health system failed Tyson, there's no doubt about that," he said.
"And Tyson is not that unusual - in different ways, there are other Tysons around every community in the country."
One example Newshub reported on was in April when a south Auckland man had been battling health authorities to get ministry-funded safety glass installed in his home to protect his disabled son.
Letele stepped in then as well and raised enough money to fix it.
"And still, six months later, here we are again. The thing is why is it left up to people like us to help and to make change. This shouldn't work this way," he said.
In Harwood's case, Campbell said health workers aren't to blame.
"People do make mistakes. People are stressed, people are tired, people are overworked so it's no good blaming that, we've got to look at it as a whole."
And although it won't be overnight, he vows things will change under the new entity, Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ.
In the meantime, Letele will continue to support people like Harwood.
"If you can help you should and I can help so I do it and if we all live that way, this country and this system will be in a better place," he said.
Giving people like Harwood a better chance at life.
