A leading doctor says poor housing and the cost of living crisis is putting more kids in hospital.
The rate of hospitalisations for children under five has increased by 35 percent in a year, and in most cases the illnesses are preventable.
When we said goodbye to DHBs (District Health Boards) we were supposed to see the back of the so-called postcode lottery, but it's still very much lingering. Some patients are waiting up to four weeks to see their GP.
"Ahh, two weeks," one woman told Newshub.
"I called up yesterday and got an appointment today," one man said.
"I had to wait about four weeks," another woman said.
"If someone is acutely unwell, then they should be able to see their GP (General Practitioner) on that day," Te Whatu Ora's Dr Richard Sullivan said.
That may be the goal but it's not many people's reality, and it's driving more hospitalisations for our zero to four-year-olds and that could be avoided.
"There's been a significant increase and that's a concern to us," Dr Sullivan said.
Nationally there's been a 35 percent increase over the 12 months to June this year, compared to the same period the year before.
But when you look at Auckland it's nearly double that, with a 66 percent increase and 65 percent in Waitemata.
"We're pretty disappointed that we haven't seen an improvement we'd like to - and particularly in that metric."
It's one of the 11 metrics Te Whatu Ora is measuring, but in its latest report it's of most concern.
"When you see a system where general practice is under strain and the urgent care centres are under strain you'll see a flow through into conditions worsening unnecessarily," Royal College of GPs Dr Luke Bradford said.
Te Whatu Ora said there's been a particular increase in the rate of admissions for asthma, pneumonia, upper respiratory and ear, nose and throat infections, gastroenteritis and cellulitus, or skin infections.
"This is all a reflection of the conditions, these are children of families that are struggling," Auckland University's Dr Collin Tukuitonga said.
Dr Tukuitonga believes housing and cost of living pressures are contributing to poorer health outcomes.
"What is happening is that things are getting worse and not just by a small amount - a third across all the young ones but Pasifika kids almost a 50 percent increase," he explained
The report, released on Tuesday, looked at the quarter to June. Te Whatu Ora said there have been some changes since.
"We've had over 1100 extra nurses since that time and 100 new doctors, which is one of the greatest uplifts we've had over that period of time - and then other novel initiatives, pharmacy prescribers and virtual health care," Dr Sullivan said.
But whether those initiatives will keep our tamariki out of hospital, Te Whatu Ora says it's too early to tell.
