NZ Public Health – Reality v Fabrication
By John O'Neill
We are in election mode again and every medium is brimming with allegations that the public health system of New Zealand is collapsing or growing cancerously, underfunded or extravagant, bureaucratic or freewheeling - out of control. The opposition seeking to be government and the frustrated ideologues of privatisation come together in a frenzy of criticism. In order to generate what can pass for rational argument they trawl the statistics with a net so fine that that nothing escapes, however trivial. Having hauled all this material on board they throw back that which is excellent or good or even mediocre leaving the dregs from which they hope to ferment a storm.
Unfortunately we have become so accustomed to the game that we allow it to proceed without protest even though we know that, taken seriously, it would be to our serious disadvantage. It is time to tell the real story from our own experience and show those who would rob us of a treasure that we are awake to their sabotage.
It is 8.30 am on July 8, 2005. My wife and I wait, nervously holding hands, in one of several adjacent examination rooms for doctors to arrive. We had come a long way since June 18 when Eileen went rather casually to her Whangarei GP with a bothersome mouth ulcer. He took one look and sent her to an ear/nose/throat specialist for urgent attention. She was re-examined within two hours and a diagnosis of probable cancer confirmed. Biopsies were taken for pathology and we were offered the choice of free CT scan within two weeks or private CT scan within two days. We opted for the fast-track and slid seamlessly out to the private health service and then back to the public. Meanwhile we had been booked into Auckland Hospital for expert assessment.
My wife and I wait, nervously holding hands, in one of several adjacent examination rooms for doctors to arrive. From 8.30 to 12.30 on the day of the clinic we saw waves of experts from various disciplines, surgeons, radiotherapists, dentists, nurses, physios, speech therapists and others. Up to 30 people of many nationalities all came and saw and said little. We were released for lunch while they all got together and brainstormed the problem. Back to work and the surgeons sat us down and made their recommendations, asked for our agreement, dashed off to make arrangements and booked us for surgery on 18 July, ten days later. The pre-operative tests were all done there and then and a social worker came to assist with financial and support information. She then booked us into Domain Lodge for the two weeks of the procedure, jointly funded by Government and the Cancer Society. Further transport assistance was offered because of the distance we had to travel plus one adequate meal per day for the support person - me.
What a day that was! I thought then and am more convinced now that such comprehensive intervention would cost tens of thousands of dollars, even if it were available in a private insurance system. One would need to be the Pope or the President in any other country to even approximate the quality of service given freely to persons of many years and very few dollars and absolutely zero influence.
We presented on the day. The major surgery was done and 12 hours later, Eileen was in the critical care unit with one-on-one monitoring and nursing. Back to the surgery ward (a single room) on the following day and we were set on the rehabilitation and recuperation phase in modern, pleasant surroundings.
Okay, no TV provided. What a shame!
In the papers I read garbage almost daily which completely negates our experience. One says we in NZ have not mastered the knowledge economy and therefore cannot afford to provide the health services of richer countries such as Ireland. My extended family in that fortunate country hooted when I mentioned this. They simply could not believe the speed and efficiency with which we were moved through a complex process or the quality of care available to us. One can only assume that the purveyor of that opinion was ill-informed on both countries.
The plain fact is that our public health service walks on two legs, finance and commitment. We must understand that our taxes are our best insurance and private schemes are woefully deficient despite multiplying premium costs to the old and needy. Anyone who stands for office on the promise to assist private providers while cutting taxes is a destroyer of a system that has taken many decades to build.
Unfortunately we have short memories. All this should not have been a revelation to me. When our daughter was fighting pancreatic cancer two years ago we had not yet been squeezed out of health insurance by rising premiums. We felt vindicated in our support of the health provider over many years - until push came to shove and the best private hospital available flicked us over to the public system after one attempt at a palliative procedure.
Auckland Hospital persisted and restored some quality of life to her after no less than three attempts. It’s called commitment and it cannot coexist with the bottom line.
So, this year as in every election year, we are asked again to separate fact from fallacy and examine carefully the offers of saving a few dollars in taxes while “taking the fat” out of the health system which, in our experiences, is lean but never mean. It proves its efficiency daily and is the envy of the world.
We are in election mode again and every medium is brimming with allegations that the public health system of New Zealand is collapsing or growing cancerously, underfunded or extravagant, bureaucratic or freewheeling - out of control. The opposition seeking to be government and the frustrated ideologues of privatisation come together in a frenzy of criticism. In order to generate what can pass for rational argument they trawl the statistics with a net so fine that that nothing escapes, however trivial. Having hauled all this material on board they throw back that which is excellent or good or even mediocre leaving the dregs from which they hope to ferment a storm.
Unfortunately we have become so accustomed to the game that we allow it to proceed without protest even though we know that, taken seriously, it would be to our serious disadvantage. It is time to tell the real story from our own experience and show those who would rob us of a treasure that we are awake to their sabotage.
It is 8.30 am on July 8, 2005. My wife and I wait, nervously holding hands, in one of several adjacent examination rooms for doctors to arrive. We had come a long way since June 18 when Eileen went rather casually to her Whangarei GP with a bothersome mouth ulcer. He took one look and sent her to an ear/nose/throat specialist for urgent attention. She was re-examined within two hours and a diagnosis of probable cancer confirmed. Biopsies were taken for pathology and we were offered the choice of free CT scan within two weeks or private CT scan within two days. We opted for the fast-track and slid seamlessly out to the private health service and then back to the public. Meanwhile we had been booked into Auckland Hospital for expert assessment.
My wife and I wait, nervously holding hands, in one of several adjacent examination rooms for doctors to arrive. From 8.30 to 12.30 on the day of the clinic we saw waves of experts from various disciplines, surgeons, radiotherapists, dentists, nurses, physios, speech therapists and others. Up to 30 people of many nationalities all came and saw and said little. We were released for lunch while they all got together and brainstormed the problem. Back to work and the surgeons sat us down and made their recommendations, asked for our agreement, dashed off to make arrangements and booked us for surgery on 18 July, ten days later. The pre-operative tests were all done there and then and a social worker came to assist with financial and support information. She then booked us into Domain Lodge for the two weeks of the procedure, jointly funded by Government and the Cancer Society. Further transport assistance was offered because of the distance we had to travel plus one adequate meal per day for the support person - me.
What a day that was! I thought then and am more convinced now that such comprehensive intervention would cost tens of thousands of dollars, even if it were available in a private insurance system. One would need to be the Pope or the President in any other country to even approximate the quality of service given freely to persons of many years and very few dollars and absolutely zero influence.
We presented on the day. The major surgery was done and 12 hours later, Eileen was in the critical care unit with one-on-one monitoring and nursing. Back to the surgery ward (a single room) on the following day and we were set on the rehabilitation and recuperation phase in modern, pleasant surroundings.
Okay, no TV provided. What a shame!
In the papers I read garbage almost daily which completely negates our experience. One says we in NZ have not mastered the knowledge economy and therefore cannot afford to provide the health services of richer countries such as Ireland. My extended family in that fortunate country hooted when I mentioned this. They simply could not believe the speed and efficiency with which we were moved through a complex process or the quality of care available to us. One can only assume that the purveyor of that opinion was ill-informed on both countries.
The plain fact is that our public health service walks on two legs, finance and commitment. We must understand that our taxes are our best insurance and private schemes are woefully deficient despite multiplying premium costs to the old and needy. Anyone who stands for office on the promise to assist private providers while cutting taxes is a destroyer of a system that has taken many decades to build.
Unfortunately we have short memories. All this should not have been a revelation to me. When our daughter was fighting pancreatic cancer two years ago we had not yet been squeezed out of health insurance by rising premiums. We felt vindicated in our support of the health provider over many years - until push came to shove and the best private hospital available flicked us over to the public system after one attempt at a palliative procedure.
Auckland Hospital persisted and restored some quality of life to her after no less than three attempts. It’s called commitment and it cannot coexist with the bottom line.
So, this year as in every election year, we are asked again to separate fact from fallacy and examine carefully the offers of saving a few dollars in taxes while “taking the fat” out of the health system which, in our experiences, is lean but never mean. It proves its efficiency daily and is the envy of the world.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home