Archive · 24 Aug 2026
Indian Mother’s New Zealand Healthcare Access Sparks Debate
Akriti Jaiswal Srivastava lives in New Zealand with her child, Kevith.
She said Kevith had been coughing for about 10 days.
She called a medical centre on a Thursday to ask for an appointment.
She said the first available appointment was the following Wednesday.
She also tried an after-hours clinic, but said it was too crowded to accept more patients.
This made her worry about getting quick care for children.
She said healthcare appointments can sometimes be easier to get at private clinics in India.
Some people online agreed with her concerns.
Others said New Zealand sends urgent cases to the right emergency services and also has private healthcare options.
Akriti Jaiswal Srivastava said her child Kevith had a persistent cough for about 10 days.
She said a medical centre offered her the earliest appointment nearly a week after her Thursday call.
An after-hours clinic was reportedly overcrowded and had stopped accepting additional patients.
She contrasted the experience with easier access to private doctors and clinics in India.
Social media users disagreed over public-system priorities, emergency care and comparisons with India’s private healthcare sector.
- Who
- Akriti Jaiswal Srivastava, an Indian mother living in New Zealand, and her child Kevith.
- What
- She described difficulty obtaining a timely medical appointment and accessing an overcrowded after-hours clinic for her sick child.
- When
- She called on a Thursday; the earliest appointment she said she received was the following Wednesday, after the child had been coughing for about 10 days.
- Where
- At her local medical centre and an after-hours clinic in New Zealand.
- Why
- She wanted Kevith’s persistent cough examined and used the experience to discuss healthcare access and differences between New Zealand and India.
Patient-access concerns
Healthcare-system defenses
Appointment availability
Patient-access concerns
The mother’s experience suggests families may struggle to obtain prompt routine care, particularly when a child is unwell.
Healthcare-system defenses
Some users said New Zealand’s public system prioritises urgent cases and directs seriously ill patients to appropriate services.
Comparison with India
Patient-access concerns
She said patients in India can often visit private hospitals and clinics without waiting several days for an appointment.
Healthcare-system defenses
Other commenters argued that comparing New Zealand’s public system with India’s private healthcare sector is not equivalent and noted that private options exist in New Zealand.
After-hours care
Patient-access concerns
She said the after-hours clinic was so full that staff had stopped accepting more patients.
Healthcare-system defenses
Users cited emergency-system experiences and said people with serious medical problems can receive treatment through appropriate emergency channels.
- Person
- Akriti Jaiswal Srivastava
- Child
- Kevith
- Reported symptom
- Persistent cough lasting around 10 days
- Appointment delay
- The earliest appointment offered was the following Wednesday after a Thursday call
- After-hours clinic
- The clinic was described as overcrowded and unable to accept additional patients
- Discussion trigger
- Her account was shared in a video on Instagram and prompted debate about healthcare access
- Online response
- Users offered mixed views about urgent care, emergency services and private healthcare options
