Hospital bosses threatened to stand down a surgeon from the frontline if she didn't stop wearing extra personal protective equipment (PPE).

Dr Stephanie Ulmer, a general surgeon at Middlemore Hospital, was told her use of PPE was making other staff feel anxious.

However, she says hospitals should provide PPE to everyone coming into close contact with patients - and thinks the Ministry of Health guidelines around it aren't stringent enough.

"I believe we are treating our nurses and medical staff as a dispensable commodity at the moment, based on the fact that we are not providing protection," Dr Ulmer told Newshub.