Staff shortages take a toll at Rarotonga Hospital

+Opinion

Staff shortages take a toll at Rarotonga Hospital

Zahra
Shahtahmasebi
Zahra bicycle
Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. Zahra laments the flat back tyre after barely 24 hours of use

In 2021, while working for New Zealand Doctor Rata Aotearoa, journalist Zahra Shahtahmasebi won a national health journalism scholarship to look at the challenges facing rural health. Last month, she travelled to the Cook Islands to get started

“They tell me they are on call 24/7, 365 days a year” The principle of Murphy’s Law applies even more so when travelling. The bike was in m, Rarotonga beach, “The beach has always been my happy place. Now it’s becoming the place where I try to process all of the information picked up during my interviews”