Media Release 28 November 2001

Petition seeking fair deal for the elderly to be presented tomorrow

The New Zealand Private Hospitals Association supports the petition led by Wellington City Mission that will be presented tomorrow to Minister for Disability Issues, Ruth Dyson.

The NZPHA, representing more than 120 hospitals that provide high level long term care for the elderly, supports the call for Government to acknowledge the increasing care needed for people admitted to residential care and put in place adequate funding for the provision of this care.

NZPHA Executive Director, Lesley Clarke, says that for too long Government has failed to recognise what it costs to provide quality care and that an independent study commissioned by the Ministry of Health last year has been ignored. “Hospitals and rest homes have had no increases in funding for more than three years and, while there will soon be some small adjustment offered for rest home and dementia level care, this only represents a 2.6% increase in the total budget. Continuing Care Hospitals will get nothing.”

“Service standards and compliance costs have increased significantly over recent years, as has the general running costs of rest homes and hospitals. People coming into residential care are frailer and need more complex care and all of this adds up to major cost increases that cannot continue to be absorbed.”

Ms Clarke says that providers of care are worried that continued under-funding will compromise services and threaten the viability of many facilities, both private and religious and welfare. “This petition shows that New Zealanders will not accept any erosion in the quality of residential care for our senior citizens and that this service must be supported and retained.”

The petition will be presented
Parliament Grounds
1.40pm Thursday 29th November

Ends

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