Your stories and suggestions

Health Reform

Join us in reshaping New Zealand's healthcare system for the better.

Please lobby for a health system that is not privatized. Privatization removes funding from the public system and has been proven to not work in the long run as it starves the public system of funding (see the UK). Health is a basic need. - Cindy

My observations for what they are worth is that while what we do “ at the coal face” is incredibly valuable and can make some difference, the main determining factor for the wellbeing of communities is income inequality which is inextricably linked with Government Policies. - Helen

Thank you for raising awareness of the plight of NZ’s health system. We need a much greater focus on primary health care. Incentives for healthier eating and lifestyles. Sugar taxes on unhealthy food and drink. Financial incentives to keep medical graduates in NZ and in general practice. -Simon

Maybe we need to fund nurse training , maybe we need to fund doctor training , maybe ensure they are rewarded for their care. I am now old and my wife passed away about 1 year ago. Throughout our lives we have always received caring treatment , empathy and help and I just believe we are so so lucky with our doctors and nurses Let's go back to basics , to a time when they were a respected and special part of our community , empower them to make the decisions , reward them well and help them with their training and continued development Shed the management structures and spend money at the people who look after us !! -David

My view is we need to reform the health system along the lines of the ACC model. People have gripes with ACC but mostly because we take it for granted and forget about its enormous benefits. No-one grizzles about the cost of ACC because the levies collect a bit here and a bit there. We all pay for it and mostly don't notice. I see no reason why the ACC model should only apply to accidents. Why not extend it to a whole of health model? -Kate

Here’s hoping everyone along your route comes out to support such a vital issue. As a parent of a GP I get to hear how broken the system is, with no will or intention by successive governments to improve things in a meaningful way. One thing we should be demanding is to ban politicians from having private health insurance! That might focus their minds a bit. -Martine

If NZ can increase health care spending to create a healthcare system with fully resourced care including salaries that are competitive with those in equivalent economies and safe staffing levels, and an increased focus on primary health care including preventative, dental and mental health care, the gains for the country in terms of productivity, reduced long term healthcare costs, reduced welfare costs, and the reduced (perceived) need for private health insurance, and most importantly better quality of life for all kiwis will both offset the additional costs, and be well worth any increased taxation to pay for this. A small increase in taxes in exchange for a guaranteed increase in healthcare is a no brainer. -Alison

I worked in the DHB for just over 12 years and here’s my biggest issue. Management!! It’s so Top Heavy and ineffective. Concerned with saving money by reducing support for patients and practitioners whilst blowing the budget on more management staff to control the overspending on patients and practitioners. -Mindy

I have heard of, and know of, several unacceptable health situations recently re waiting times throughout our country (including a recent 11 month wait for a respiratory clinic appt (12 yrs ago was between 6 - 8 weeks) for myself - I support your effort for reform and out of politicians hands! I am a ‘baby-boomer’ with health needs, alongside family and friends same age group. -Fay

Private healthcare facilities are owned/run by clinicians. They seem to operate effectively and efficiently. Maybe clinicians, not accountants and business managers, should be put in charge, like they once were, of the public health system. Regionally at least, if not nationally. -Anonymous

We particularly need to re-commit to primary care as the foundation of our health system, and to support all those who work to provide local, community-based care where it's needed. Primary care should be accessible to everyone and should not be part of a commercial or profit-making enterprise. It should draw on and be linked in with local experience, expertise and knowledge. It should be supported through a broad tax-base and not rely on user-charges, which create barriers for those most in need. I have worked in health all my life. There's so much that needs to change and it's so hard to see how I can make a difference. At the same time, I have many awesome friends and colleagues who are committed to upholding the health system, to doing what they can to keep it going and deliver what's needed. I'm constantly inspired and humbled by their dedication and effort and love. -Anonymous

Encourage physical, mental, and emotional health. Purpose safety and well being being paramount possible to achieve good healthy more positive education. Mind sets of the promotion of good healthy influence accomplishing through the promulgation of health principles. -Rawinia

I am incredibly grateful that we have a public system, but it is not up to a standard that we should be proud of & it needs MORE RESOURCING to allow it to operate effectively. The two tiered system we have is embarrassing and so so unjust. Thank you for your work & action in this area. -Kathryn

Medical specialists employed in the public health system should have a limit on the amount of work they can do in the private sector. -Julia

It is perhaps beyond even Solomon's wisdom to decide where healthcare $ should be spent or denied, but we do need to have a system that is proactive, cost-effective, compassionate and not so time and $ wasting. And funding independent of politics, keeping up with inflation and population growth. - Cheri

Support learning about the building blocks to health. Fund primary health care. Ensure phone services for mental health care can call back their clients. - Madeleine

I work in Christchurch womens' prison as a nurse..Our wahine we care for have a lot of health needs and we don't have enough nurses to provide what they need. On weekends we often have one nurse for 180 wahine. Our muster is climbing to 250 by march but we are only getting one more RN. - Judith

(Advanced care directives) should form the basis of discussions for old folk, for their families and for the whole NZ community...it is respecting our wishes about how we live out the end of our lives. Helping us avoid the prolonged care trap would only benefit us and the entire health system. -Jiff

I am a retired nurse, having had a 45-year nursing career mostly in community-based healthcare, where I believe the emphasis should be. For the people, by and with the people. Sadly, I have witnessed a huge deterioration of healthcare in Aotearoa. I think this is largely due to politicization of the health system and inequities created by poor social policies made by successive governments, for decades now. There has been a steady drift away from the basic determinants of health. I agree we need to build on health from the ground up, i.e. access to good food, housing, education, employment, social connections and accessible primary health care. All of these things can be provided in the community, if only the decision makers and funders were willing. Healthy families make healthy communities, which make for a healthy nation! -Yvette

I live in a town of about 6000 people. We have one full-time GP, and a couple of retired GPs coming in on a part-time locum basis. We've had half a dozen new GPs come to town in the last couple of years, but they always leave. Our medical centre is a rather dilapidated old villa that's crowded and completely unfit for purpose. It can take a couple of weeks to get an appointment, so for more urgent care people generally have to travel to the private accident and medical service based at Whanganui Hospital, and pay a huge amount to be seen, after waiting several hours. Of course if you don't have transport, or are too sick to drive, you're stuck. Rural health isn't just about recruitment - it's about retention, and facilities. A small town like ours can't afford to build a new GP surgery, even though it would probably make a huge difference to GP retention and enable a much wider range of services. The irony is our surgery backs on to a health centre built by the DHB some years ago, which could be made entirely fit for purpose, but apparently the GP practice can't use it. -Belinda

The notion that health must be taken out of the hands of politicians is brilliant. Am 100% behind you. Ngā mihi nui -Linda

I want to support your mahi because I am deeply worried about the inequality of access to public health services. I want as much pressure as possible on political parties to work collectively and in accord on health. -Felicite

I am passionate about supporting primary health care that, and this sounds like an old cracked record, is accessible, comprehensive, person-centred and provides continuity of care. I have been living this for years but we have been hoodwinked by those who will not listen. Healthcare needs to focus on these principles and not be hamstrung by political ideology. I fully support your hikoi and will raise my fist with you all. - Tony

Prioritize health care in the community, where the people are, where most health care actually takes place. Adequately fund primary health care -an approach that includes population/public health, primary care (eg first contact care at your general practice), and community health and social care. I Pay equity for practice nurses and equivalent pay for GPs compared with other medical specialists (value the care provided by generalists the same as that provided by specialists) eg funding for non-clinical contact time to deal with in-box, holiday pay, continuing medical education support etc (ie MEKA for GPs). Government to fund rural health education hubs for interprofessional undergraduate and postgraduate training of health practitioners (eg medical students and doctors, nurses) including accommodation. This will allow for critical mass, get trainees into areas where they may subsequently settle, gives the message that rural health, general practice is valued. Support models of care that are guided by te Whare Tapa Whā, looking at health and wellbeing in the context of the whole person and their whanau. -Felicity

We need more clinical settings where a variety of health professional practitioners assist people using a team approach. It is time to open more doors to partnership so that general practitioners, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, physiotherapists, related professionals and cultural advisers are supported to work together. -Roy

(The increase in chronic disease) has placed substantial pressure on our already overstretched public health system, which lacks the capacity and funding to manage the long-term treatment costs associated with these conditions. At the same time, environmental factors are exacerbating the issue. The widespread availability of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) — sold in abundance through fast food outlets and supermarkets — means that these unhealthy options have become the primary food source for many people. Compounding the problem is the chronic underfunding of the public health system. Preventative health programs are being cut or eliminated altogether. For example, funding has been reduced for the SunSmart program, completely withdrawn from MelNet, and smoke-free initiatives have been scrapped. Vaping is now widely accessible with little to no restriction. As a result, we are beginning to see deeply concerning health outcomes — including young people developing squamous cell carcinoma in the mouth, tongue, soft palate, and nasopharynx. There are many more examples, but this alone highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive and better-funded public health strategy. -Trish

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