Story: Hospitals

People can pay the full cost of medical treatments at private hospitals if they want to bypass the public hospital waiting list. In 2008 the private Mercy Hospital in Dunedin waived this requirement when it offered 35 free operations for children who were on the public waiting list. The operations were mostly ear grommet insertions, with some adenoid and tonsil removals. Two-year-old Milos Hendry is having a grommet inserted in his right ear, presumably around Christmas time.