A week-long wait for a medical appointment

An Indian mother living in New Zealand has sparked an online conversation about healthcare access after sharing the difficulties she faced in getting medical care for her sick child. Akriti Jaiswal Srivastava posted a video on Instagram describing how she spent 10 days trying to see a doctor for her son Kevith, who had a persistent cough.

According to Srivastava, she called her local medical centre on a Thursday expecting to get Kevith checked, but was told there were no appointments available for a week. The earliest slot she was offered was for the following Wednesday. In the video, she explained how she had initially waited to see if the cough would improve on its own, partly because she felt doctors in New Zealand do not prescribe medicines as readily as they do in India.

"Kevith has a cough, and it's been going on for the last 10 days," she said, as quoted by Hindustan Times and The Times of India. She added that after waiting 10 days with little improvement, she decided it was time to get the child examined.

After-hours clinic at capacity

Srivastava then tried an after-hours clinic, where walk-in patients are generally seen without a regular appointment. However, when she and her child arrived, the clinic was overcrowded and had stopped accepting new patients. A notice displayed at the centre read: "We are sorry but we are at capacity and unable to take any more patients tonight."

She filmed the notice and described the situation as particularly difficult for parents. "Adults can still manage somehow, but for children, managing these things becomes very necessary," she said, as reported by India Today.

The experience led her to reflect on the differences between healthcare in New Zealand and India. While acknowledging that New Zealand is a developed country, Srivastava said she now appreciated the ease of accessing doctors in India.

"In India, you can go to a hospital or clinic immediately, see a doctor right away, and everything gets sorted quickly," she said, as quoted by Hindustan Times and The Times of India. She concluded that "perhaps India is the best" when it comes to immediate medical care, a sentiment echoed in the headline of the Hindustan Times report.

Advice for families moving abroad

Srivastava advised families moving to New Zealand with children to be mentally prepared for a different healthcare system. She also recommended bringing medicines from India, specifically mentioning antibiotics, and said she wished she had done so for Kevith, according to Hindustan Times.

The post prompted other users to share their own experiences of waiting for medical care abroad. One person said they waited more than five and a half hours in London for a consultation that lasted only a few minutes, as reported by India Today and The Times of India.

Broader context

Srivastava's account reflects one family's experience and does not necessarily represent healthcare access across New Zealand, as noted by The Times of India. The discussion it sparked highlights the varying expectations and realities of medical care in different countries, particularly for parents of young children.