Minister Judith Collins was taken to hospital by an ambulance after suffering a “nasty bout of vertigo”.

In a statement published on social media this evening, Collins said several flights over the weekend had contributed to her vertigo, which led to an ambulance being called to Parliament on Tuesday night.

Collins was taken to Wellington Hospital. She stayed overnight and returned home today.

Vertigo is a sensation of dizziness that can often be accompanied by nausea and impaired hearing. It could also impair people’s ability to walk.

Collins, in her capacity as Defence Minister, took a series of commercial and NZ Defence Force flights over the weekend to visit Defence Force bases.

“I found out the hard way this week that a virus followed by several flights can cause a nasty bout of vertigo,” her post read.

Collins, who also holds the public service and space ministerial portfolios, said people shouldn’t be alarmed if they saw her using a “little support”.

“It’s like sea sickness multiplied,” Collins said on social media.

She said she was “on the mend” and thanked the “wonderful, professional care from Wellington Free Ambulance and Wellington Hospital”.

Collins was not expected to be at Parliament on Thursday.

Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.