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A health strategy aiming to reduce death and suffering for those with respiratory disease has been released today, the first of its kind for New Zealand.
Respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death and costs New Zealand $5.5 billion annually.
Asthma Foundation chief executive John Wills said the human cost was far higher, sparking the first ever national respiratory health strategy, Te Hā Ora.
Mr Wills said the aim of Te Ha Ora was to create a framework for the health sector and government to collectively address New Zealand's tragic respiratory rates.
"Respiratory illness affects one in six Kiwis and accounts for one in eight hospitalisations. It's right up there with major challenges like cancer, heart disease and diabetes," he said.
"Respiratory disease is affecting more New Zealanders each year, despite all the hard work from the health sector and improvements in medication over the past decade. The situation is worsening at an enormous socio-economic cost. With urgent action we can change these statistics.
"Every year 700,000 New Zealanders are affected by not being able to work, look after their families, go to school or participate in the many activities that we take for granted. And the tragic thing is, in most cases, respiratory disease is preventable."
Te Hā Ora has five areas of practical focus:
• People with respiratory conditions and their families;
• Their environment;
• The health community;
• The health system;
• Research and evaluation.
Mr Willis said the implementaction of the strategy would be tracked with metrics and an annual measurement cycle.
He said while respiratory disease affected Kiwis from all sectors of society, Māori, Pacific peoples and low income families were particularly over-represented.
"Conditions like asthma and bronchiolitis are hurting our children and young people and stopping them from reaching their potential," he said.
The Asthma Foundation is supporting the leadership and facilitation of Te Hā Ora by launching a new website as a portal for sharing sector information.
They are also helping to develop of a major new research programme and $15 million endowment fund; a helpline, e-learning packages for health workers, and a set of adult and paediatric guidelines.
"We'll also work with the government to ensure the New Zealand Health Strategy's proposed focus on chronic respiratory conditions develops into fully-fledged prioritisation status," Mr Wills explained.
Respiratory health experts and members of the health sector will meet at the New Zealand Respiratory Conference New Zealand in Wellington over the next two days and will focus on Te Hā Ora.
• In New Zealand over 700,000 people (one in six) live with a respiratory condition.
• Respiratory disease is our third most common cause of death
• Respiratory disease accounts for one in eight of all hospital stays
• Respiratory disease costs the country over $5.5 billion every year
• More than half of the people admitted to hospital with a poverty-related condition are there because of a respiratory problem such as asthma, bronchiolitis, acute infection or pneumonia
• People living in the most deprived households are admitted to hospital for respiratory illness over three times more often than people from the wealthiest areas
• Across all age groups, hospitalisation rates are much higher for Pacific peoples (2.6 times higher) and Māori (2.1 times higher) than for other ethnic groups