The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists says a Nelson hospital surgeon who raised concerns about growing waiting lists is now getting a political backlash for reporting an inconvenient truth.
Adrian Secker, the hospital's head of surgery, has written to all general practitioners in the region expressing worries that more than 500 people were waiting to see a general surgeon.
But Health Minister Tony Ryall says it is a beat-up and the district health board's chief executive has told him that the letter is incorrect.
The association's executive director, Ian Powell, says it appears the Government does not want to hear the bad news and Mr Secker is being treated unfairly.
Mr Powell says the public deserve to know what is happening in the health system and the way Mr Secker is being treated risks creating a culture of intimidation and threats.
"That risks creating a culture of intimidation, of ... toe the party line or we'll dump on you. That is not good practice; it is not in the public interest."
