‘HE’S LYING TO YOU’: Martyn Bradbury out of hospital, takes aim at Health Minister Simeon Brown

New Zealand political blogger and commentator Martyn Bradbury has left Auckland Hospital after an eight-day stay following a serious medical emergency, using his first-hand experience to launch a sharp attack on Health Minister Simeon Brown over the state of New Zealand’s public hospitals.

Bradbury said he was admitted after collapsing at home following a fall in Mt Eden that left him with three broken ribs. He later suffered significant blood loss, required a blood transfusion and spent more than a week in hospital recovering.

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Image: Martyn Bradbury told thisquality from hospital that he suffered three broken ribs and significant blood loss following a medical emergency, after spending the night in the emergency department. (Supplied / Martyn Bradbury)

In a lengthy post on Bradbury’s The Daily Blog site, he said his time inside Auckland Hospital gave him a close view of the pressure facing frontline staff. He praised doctors, nurses, ambulance crews, orderlies and other health workers, describing them as compassionate and professional, but said many appeared exhausted and were working in an under-resourced system.

Doctors were being pulled away from consultations to respond to emergencies, nurses managing heavy workloads and staff struggling to keep up with demand.

“EVERYONE is over worked and under resourced,” Bradbury wrote.

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Patients were seen caught in delays and uncertainty, including a man from the Far North whose surgery had allegedly been postponed multiple times and a homeless patient whose discharge was complicated by a lack of somewhere suitable to go.

Bradbury used those experiences to directly challenge the Government’s handling of the health system and Brown’s public messaging around hospital pressures.

“He’s lying to you,” Bradbury wrote, accusing the Health Minister of downplaying the severity of the situation.

Image: Bradbury’s criticism came despite Health Minister Simeon Brown earlier announcing a $25 million winter hospital package aimed at easing pressure on emergency departments, with the political commentator arguing that his eight days inside Auckland Hospital showed a public system still heavily reliant on exhausted frontline staff working through overcrowding and workforce shortages. (National Party Office / Simeon Brown pictured)

Brown has acknowledged sustained pressure on emergency departments and earlier this year announced a $25 million winter hospital plan, including additional staff and hospital beds.

The Government has argued those measures are designed to help hospitals manage increased winter demand, while health unions have continued to warn of overcrowding, staffing shortages and patients being treated in corridors.

Bradbury said what he saw during his eight days in hospital did not match the picture he believes the Government is presenting. His criticism was directed at political decision-making rather than the frontline workers who treated him.

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“I am back thanks to the public health system,” Bradbury wrote.

The experience appears to have strengthened his argument that New Zealand’s hospitals are being kept afloat by exhausted staff working under intense pressure.

After entering hospital as a patient, Bradbury has emerged with a renewed political target, placing Brown and the Government’s health policy within the orbit of his criticism about the public health system.

Who is Martyn Bradbury?

Bradbury is a well-known New Zealand blogger, political commentator and media personality who has spent decades involved in political commentary and broadcasting. He is the editor of The Daily Blog, where he regularly publishes commentary on New Zealand politics, social issues, the economy and the media.

Host of The Bradbury Group, a weekly New Zealand political podcast launched in 2025 following the end of The Working Group. The programme invites political figures, commentators and other guests to debate major issues.

Bradbury has developed a significant profile for his outspoken blogging.

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