OPINION
A week ago I ended up in the emergency department at Tauranga Hospital.
I woke up in the middle of the night with chest pains, a sore back and a racing heartbeat. I rang NZ Healthline at 1.36am for advice and to soothe my increasing anxiety.
After talking to the nurse and answering numerous questions she suggested a trip to the Emgergency Department, despite my protests that I could attend a walk-in clinic at 8am.
Long story short, I was at the hospital for about 10 hours. I was triaged on arrival and within an hour I was put on the heart monitor, blood was taken and I had an X-ray.