David Clark.

Labour received a "warm turnout" for its health campaign launch in Invercargill yesterday.

The meeting was called by Dunedin-based Labour health spokesman David Clark and Labour’s candidate for Invercargill, Liz Craig, and discussed ongoing southern health issues and launched Labour’s "Can the Cuts" campaign.

The meeting attracted more than 50 people to the Repertory House in Invercargill yesterday, and ran over time, more than two hours in total.

Labour has claimed that by failing to keep up with population growth, ageing and inflation, National had silently stripped $1.7 billion from the health budget during the past six years.

Dr Craig said that in the Southern District Health Board area, 5699 referrals were returned to GP care in the year ending June 2016, deemed to be "below the threshold" for a specialist appointment.

"People are talking to me about their difficulties getting specialist appointments, about waiting in pain for hip and knee surgery, and about long delays for basic medical investigations like ultrasounds and colonoscopies," she said before the meeting.

Contacted after the meeting, Dr Clark said the campaign aimed to "put a human face to the problems", with several former patients recounting extended waiting times, then the further effects on their health, lifestyle and employment.

"In several cases, the cost of the [subsequent] complications exceeded the cost of the original operation, if it had been done in a timely manner," Dr Clark said.

In the short term, the "Can the Cuts" campaign would continue to collate people’s personal experiences in the healthcare system, and Dr Clark noted healthcare issues for those at the meeting were a higher priority than the issue of regional economic neglect.

simon.hartley@odt.co.nz