The Health Minister has admitted the public health system is still in “crisis” as rural hospitals struggle with staff shortages.
Hūhana Lyndon is a Green Party List MP based in Whangārei, Te Tai Tokerau. Lyndon’s portfolios include health, Māori development, Whānau Ora and forestry. She is a proud descendant of Ngāti Hine, Ngātiwai, Ngāti Whātua, Waikato Tainui and Hauraki.
OPINION
Healthcare is a human right. However, the worsening state of our health system risks seeing this right erode into a privilege, where support is limited to a select few while many are left in the cold.
Aotearoa is a wealthy country. The National Business Review (NBR) reported that last year the wealth of those very few people on the rich list increased by $23 billion. In the Budget this year, the Government prioritised giving $2.9b in tax breaks for landlords.
We clearly have more than enough to ensure that everybody has the support they need to navigate any health challenges they or their whānau face. Healthcare is a basic but fundamental human right our communities cannot thrive without.
But the current Government isn’t treating healthcare as a human right. It’s playing politics with our healthcare system. A system on its knees, in a state of crisis, has been met with freezes on recruitment and cost-cutting measures that will only worsen the situation and weaken our communities that are already struggling.
If our public system is allowed to slide into further disarray, critical support could increasingly become something people struggle to access unless they can afford private healthcare. We cannot stand by and let this happen.
We need to support our health system – by investing in health, we invest in our people.
The reality is every year we need to spend more on health because of inflation, population growth and evolving needs. There were efforts from the previous government to provide sustainable funding to account for these cost pressures.
Hūhana Lyndon.
The current Government was advised by officials shortly after the election that increased funding would be required to maintain adequate service delivery. While the Government claimed that its Budget increased funding for health, when one accounts for inflation, population and demographic change and increased costs for wages and salaries, this was rapidly eaten up. Ultimately, this year’s Budget’s offering for the health system lacked ambition.
Instead of support, we have seen alarmism from Minister of Health Shane Reti. Instead of providing a much-needed funding injection, he has tasked a commissioner with cutting costs.
This cost-cutting will likely see the healthcare horror stories we have been hearing continue to get worse.
Here in Tai Tokerau, for example, we are a region that’s long been struggling when it comes to meeting our health needs, but things are now coming to a head. Just the other week it was reported that due to severe doctor shortages, Dargaville Hospital has to rely on telehealth services when dealing with patients suffering severe issues such as cardiac arrest. This is not good enough. Patients deserve better.
Northland in particular is struggling, we have some of the lowest childhood immunisation rates in the country with just 66% of children being fully immunised compared to the 90% target set by the Government. Northland is also trailing behind the national targets in cancer treatment and specialist assessments.
Cutting costs and stripping a health system to its bare bones is not going to make these problems go away. It will only make them worse.
We need to be paying our doctors, nurses and hospital staff so we are in a position to retain talent rather than watch it move to greener pastures overseas. Better pay and better resources will make it easier for us to not only retain staff, but also attract new staff to fill shortages. It’s a win-win for patients.
Investment, not austerity, is how we build a system capable of catering to the needs of our communities. The Government will try and tell you there is no money left to ensure everyone has access to this human right but just remember they gave close to $3b to landlords in tax cuts.
Tax cuts for the privileged cannot come before the rights of our communities. We can choose to ask a little more from our wealthiest and create a society where nobody falls through the cracks and everyone gets the care they deserve. We must demand better.
