Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

What we’ve seen with the transfer of this Covid patient from Fiji is very simple. It's not a medical decision, it's a political one.The medical decision was made by the DHBs, the Director of Health, the Ministry of Health. The medical decision was no.But then politics got involved. Helen Clark, it's widely asserted, (and she hasn't denied it), stepped in, the UN stepped in, pressure was applied, and voila, change of plan.This is an embarrassing flip flop.The request was initially declined on clinical grounds, following advice from three Intensive Care Units at Auckland's major hospitals.But hang on, suddenly we have room.Don't forget, our ICU and hospital staff have been flat out dealing with this RSV outbreak, which has swamped hospitals right around the country.They've been absolutely stretched; you can see why they said no.But now, the Covid patient who we were categorically told was not coming, is sitting in Middlemore hospital after a 'change of plan.’The medics are mad, they're apparently furious about