For one Ashburton couple, every day is filled with stress and anxiety as they wait for urgent heart surgery.
Carol Bryan now gets anxious every day wondering if her husband John will even make it to the heart operation.
“He’s only 73, and if he gets this sorted he should be able to enjoy many more years to come,” Carol said.
“The way he is now I’m just unsure whether he’ll make it to the operation.”
To help spread the message Carol has started to protest outside Christchurch and Ashburton hospitals on behalf of her husband who was diagnosed with aortic stenosis in March last year, with the doctors pushing for an immediate operation then.
“I’m out here because he can’t be,” Carol said as she spent the day outside Ashburton Hospital.
“He had been having issues since 2014 but was officially diagnosed in March and the doctors pushed for surgery to happen, but it was declined.”
Now Carol and John have been left waiting until at least June as the health system continues to grapple with staffing shortages.
As each day passes John’s condition worsens with him often in and out of the hospital in Ashburton and Christchurch, with him suffering dizziness and fainting among other debilitating symptoms.
“We go to A&E often, so we are overnight and then get told to go home the next day with no solution.”
“Since March his condition has declined rapidly and now he spends a lot of time in bed and struggles to do much.”
While outside Ashburton Hospital Carol has had multiple nurses come and say hi on their way past, sharing her concerns.
“I really do feel for the doctors and nurses working in the hospital who can’t complete operations because they don’t have the staff or the resources.
Even when June comes around they have not got a confirmed date for the operation, which has Carol concerned that it may get pushed again.
“They’ve got no money, no staff, and no beds, so who knows how long it will be.”

• By Daniel Alvey