Issues were also raised around health services overall – from diagnostic services, specialist care and appointments, surgery, mental health and addictions services, physiotherapy to the running of hospitals during the pandemic. This is added to by the lack of input by disabled people and their whānau into hospital design and decision-making. This has had flow on impacts for disabled people and their whānau, creating the impression that hospitals are unsafe places for disabled people: “The message to us as disabled people and our whānau is that we are on our own. We have no defence and no one to protect us. If we go into a hospital, there is no protection from COVID-19 at triage or even in the hospital itself. So, the overall experience has been one where we have been relatively safe, but now we are no longer.” (Māori submission) This negative experiences around hospitals has had a long term impact for some disabled people and their whānau, with some submissions suggesting it creates a barrier to people seeking health professional advice and assistance. Specific COVID-19 issues raised by submissions included serious concerns that health professionals were being told to return to work in hospitals seven days after first testing positive for COVID-19, raising questions about how the risk to disabled people and their whānau is being factored into health and disability system decision-making: “A problem of serious and significant note is that our government is telling nurses, doctors, and carer supporters they can go back to work after 7 days, even if they are still testing positive. To me, that is a contradiction, and for the immune-compromised and disabled, it presents an unacceptable risk.” (Māori submission) Specialist services in hospitals have also been postponed, causing concern for disabled people who rely on regular hospital treatment to stay well. Others have had to move to online consultations with specialists – which may not work for all disabled people and their whānau: “People who have had their appointments for mental health and addiction services, as well as medical treatment, cancelled with little to no notice. This has been quite distressing for people especially those who have waited a long time for surgery, have arranged time off work, care for their kids etc and then it has been cancelled the day before or the day of.” (Submission) Cancellation or delays of some health services was also raised by submitters as contributing to decreased functioning or ‘flare ups’ of some conditions: “Patients who received medications via infusions had their appointments cancelled, risking a flare of their disease.” (Submission) A final area of concern raised was the variation amongst DHBs for the services they offer and the view that there is a ‘post code lottery’. Many of the issues raised highlighted different levels of service for people living in urban areas compared to those in rural areas, not only in health care. 36 Inquiry into the Support of Disabled People and Whānau During Omicron