Podcaster, disability advocate, political activist - Blake Forbes, 26, lives a very full life, although mainly within the confines of his bedroom in his modest Upper Hutt home.
Due to severe cerebral palsy, he relies on carers for all his physical needs.
But via a giant screen on his wall, cameras and an iPad (propped up on the tray of his powerchair by his grandmother and operated using his voice), he is connected to the world.
However, Forbes' quality of life is currently undermined by ongoing pain in his foot, which threatens to make him bed-bound.
And his specialist cannot find the cause, because he has been unable to order diagnostic scans.
Earlier this year, at a long-awaited follow up appointment with an orthopaedic specialist, Forbes was told that due to staff shortages in radiology, he had been unable to order either of his first two preferred options.
"So he had to resort to the most painful option for a disabled person. Which I was still grateful to have, but it's not ideal - a cortisone injection in my foot."
Forbes said he was now in limbo, unsure whether he would ever get a scan to find the cause of his pain, or have definitive treatment.
"I just feel that numbness all the time, that dull pain all the time, and it would be nice to get that gone, eventually."
The pain - which was severe at times - forced him to spend three days a week in bed, and he was having problems staying upright in his wheelchair.
The hospital's occupational therapy team suggested that he tilted his chair back to a horizontal position several times a day.
"I said, 'With the amount of time you've asked me to tilt back, I might as well stay in bed all day, and that's not great quality of life'."
Blake Forbes says he wants to be able to access the scans his doctor says are needed. Photo: RNZ
Health NZ seeking to fill vacancies in radiology
Health NZ said it currently had vacancies in radiology across the Wellington Region, and was actively recruiting for more clinicians.
Its group director for Capital Coast and Hutt Valley, Jamie Duncan, said there was no wait time for urgent scanning, but non-urgent or routine scans were prioritised based on the clinical information provided.
"We acknowledge the distress this patient has experienced during their health journey, and we are sorry they feel they haven't received adequate care for their medical conditions.
"Our team is committed to upholding our organisational values of people first, respect, caring, good communication and excellence, and our priority is to provide appropriate and high-quality care for our patients."
Photo: RNZ
People should not have to 'make a noise' to get basics - advocate
Disability advocate Nick Ruane said it was disappointing that people like Blake Forbes had to "jump through hoops" to get the help they needed.
"But there are others who don't have the ability to make their voices heard."
The case of the 11-year-old non-verbal autistic girl who was accidentally locked up in an adult inpatient psychiatric unit in Waikato last month was a horrifying example of that, he said.
"The wider point is, we shouldn't have to jump up and down and make a big noise to get the basic services that every other member of our society just expects."
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