Our Waikato reporter recounts his meeting with Robert Williams who says a junior doctor working on his case entered his room at around four on Saturday morning and proceeded to verbally abuse him. Andrew McCrae has seen some of the video Mr Williams took.

A Waikato Hospital doctor arrived drunk in a patient's room at 4am on Saturday and started calling him "a faggot".

Despite being woken by the intrusion, the patient, Robert Pere Williams, 22, took both video and voice recordings of the junior doctor​, who seemed upset about Williams' disease, cystic fibrosis.

The doctor, whom Stuff has chosen not to name, told Williams he was stressed and upset because Waikato Hospital was so understaffed. He threatened to kill himself.

Robert Williams Waikato Hospital patient Robert Williams was woken at 4am when one of his doctors arrived drunk and rambling in his hospital room.

Williams, of Gisborne, is a regular patient in the respiratory ward at Waikato Hospital. The doctor, in the ramblings that Williams recorded, talks about these regular visits and the treatment Williams receives from other medical personnel as well as himself on the ward.

READ MORE:

* 'Line in the sand' as junior doctors strike

* Hospital copes while 250 doctors strike in Canterbury

* Q&A: Why are junior doctors on strike?

Waikato DHB chief executive Nigel Murray said the DHB takes these allegations seriously.

SUPPLIED BY ROBERT WILLIAMS Cystic fibrosis sufferer Robert Pere Williams, 22, had one of his doctors arrive unannounced and drunk in his Waikato Hospital room at 4am on Saturday.

"Although we have not seen this video, we are grateful to [Stuff] for sharing the name of the doctor with us. We are urgently contacting this member of staff so we can take action and offer the appropriate support."

Just hours after the visit, Williams contacted Stuff outraged that a doctor could behave so unprofessionally and says he will be demanding compensation from the DHB.

"He was super p.....," Williams said, "and crying and telling me all about my case and how he had been thinking about it all day.

Robert Williams Waikato Hospital patient Robert Williams, despite being woken, switched his phone on and was able to make both video and audio recordings of the doctor's visit.

"Clearly he shouldn't be a doctor if he finds it so hard dealing with one case.

"Why is he worried about a patient dying? I have some pretty big concerns about Waikato Hospital now."

New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association national secretary Dr Deborah Powell said on Sunday it was not appropriate behaviour for a doctor, but said the doctor was showing signs of a mental breakdown.

FAIRFAX NZ A Waikato Hospital junior doctor arrived at a patient's room at 4am, drunk and stressed about understaffing.

"They are under a lot of stress, Waikato Hospital is under a lot of stress as well," Powell said.

"It is a district health board that is under stress left, right and centre, it would be fair to say. Waikato is one of our keep-an-eye-on-it district health boards, so, yeah, I'm afraid these are the human consequences of not taking care of the psychological needs of people."

This incident highlights the need for all aspects of health and safety to be prioritised, she said.

"I can tell you as a society and as a health system, we are good at physical threats. We know about infections and stuff like that. We are not good on physiological and we are even worse on pyschological health.

"It's an indictment on our system and I'm afraid we may have another victim of it here and, unfortunately, a patient who has been a victim of that as well. I deeply regret that and my heart goes out to the patient as well."

Cystic fibrosis is a progressive, genetic disease that causes persistent lung infections and limits the ability to breathe over time. In people with CF, a defective gene causes a thick build-up of mucus in the lungs, pancreas and other organs. People with the disease rarely live past their 30s.

Williams said it was not unusual for staff to wake him during the night to take bloods and make other checks, so it was not until Williams realised how drunk the doctor was that he knew anything out of the ordinary was happening.

Williams took the step of recording the entire interaction because he thought no one would believe him if he didn't. Williams has gang associations and served two-and-a-half years in prison for aggravated robbery. He says he has served out his parole for that offence.

"First I wanted to punch this c... in the head. Then I was a bit concerned for myself and then for him."

He said the doctor went on about how the hospital was understaffed and how he thought about hanging himself.

Williams' biggest concern is that he isn't going to get the care he needs to stay alive.

"Without this care, I would die within a month."

Williams has been under the care of Dr Janice Wong, a consultant at the hospital, since he was 12. He said the pair quite often don't see eye to eye, but he had a lot of respect for her.

On Friday morning, Williams had told the medical staff to f... off and come back in 10 minutes.

Williams said he often does that. His emotions are up and down because of dealing with a terminal illness.

Williams went to the media rather than the DHB because the mere fact the doctor arrived in the early hours of the morning showed him there was something seriously wrong with the hospital.

"A doctor turns up straight off a shift, starts crying. The hospital won't deal with it appropriately. They will cover that s... up."

"That is f..... up. I have been a patient for a long time. He was talking about f.....-up s... - dramatically understaffed and they couldn't cope.

"He shouldn't be upset about me. What if he has a patient that dies?

"He said he couldn't cope with it."

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

[Garbled mumblings]

Robert: Why have you been out, where have you been out on it tonight?

Doctor: Yeah man, f... you know you've got to do it. You know what I mean, you've gotta f...... do it.

Robert: How did they not notice you get in drunk?

Doctor: 'Cause I'm f...... [unclear]. I'm f...... stealth bro. That's why.

Robert: F... bro, you're like p.... as and all.

Doctor: I'm not f...... p f...... You think I'm f...... p.....? You wanna see me p.....? You wanna f...... see me p.....? F...... whip out my bottle of whiskey, you f......

Robert: What, you look wasted as.

Doctor: It's not about me cuz, it's about you, bro. CF, bro, it's tough s....

Robert: Yeah.

Doctor: Felt like just couldn't be a doctor and then, halfway through [giggle], they were just like nah. And I was like oh f..., b....... F...... loving being a doctor.

Robert: F..., it's like four o'clock in the morning bro.

Doctor: Oh, f... off, like time matters to you, f...... You wanna sleep? If you want to sleep I'll f...... let you sleep, f......

Robert: Nah, I'm alright bro.

Doctor: Yeah, eat a d..., eh.

Robert: I'm just worried about you.

Doctor: It's not about me, f....., you're the f...... sick. F...... come up, see a f...... exacerbation. You know how much s... I've got to type because of you? Every time you come up I've got a tonne ball of s.... And then you f...... swear at all the doctors and s.... You know, half of these kids they've been trained for 20 f...... years trying to help you, bro. They're so f...... qualified. [sigh]

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

D: You know that? You f...... know that?

R: Yeah.

D: Looking out for you. Out of all the people on this ward, [Name], she's got you the best bro [unclear].

R: Oh f....

D: What happened?

R: Nah, nah, you're right. I just need to turn on the light cuz.

D: I'll grab the nurse if you want.

R: Nah, nah, you're right. [Pause, light comes on.] Well, I do have a colouring in book.

D: Hey, don't look at me f......

R: Are you all right bro?

D: It's the first time I do this s.... 'Cos you're being a little s.... You know that m.......... [unclear] been training for...

WHERE TO GET HELP

Lifeline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 354

Depression Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 111 757

Healthline (open 24/7) - 0800 611 116

Samaritans (open 24/7) - 0800 726 666

Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.

Youthline (open 24/7) - 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email talk@youthline.co.nz

0800 WHATSUP children's helpline - phone 0800 9428 787 between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. Online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm every day.

Kidsline (open 24/7) - 0800 543 754. This service is for children aged 5 to 18. Those who ring between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays will speak to a Kidsline buddy. These are specially trained teenage telephone counsellors.

Your local Rural Support Trust - 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP)

Alcohol Drug Helpline (open 24/7) - 0800 787 797. You can also text 8691 for free.

For further information, contact the Mental Health Foundation's free Resource and Information Service (09 623 4812).