13 Feb 2017

Surgeon blasts 'two-tier health system' in Cook Islands

From , 6:01 am on 13 February 2017

A prominent surgeon has written a letter claiming there's a two-tier health system in the Cook Islands.

The letter to the Cook Islands News was provoked by recent debate about the absence of doctors on the outer islands.

New Zealand-based surgeon George Ngaei says most of the islands lack the population to support a doctor and nurse practitioners can meet most health needs.

But he told Jo O'Brien a lack of funding to support health services on the islands is of more concern.

The Cook Islands-born doctor says a health budget of 3.4 percent of GDP is an outrage.

hospital bed

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