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Cancer assistance in New Zealand

Tony — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:32:30 +0000

At Supercare4u.com we assist many clients with transfers to Hospitals for treatment of Cancer. So it is pleasing that the Minister of Health, the Hon Tony Ryall, has announced that the Budget next week will provide $101 million of extra funding over the next four years for more elective operations and scans, and improved cancer services. In a pre-Budget announcement with Prime Minister John Key, Mr Ryall said the extra budget funding would invest in four new initiatives:

shorter waiting times for diagnostic tests such as MRI scans, CT scans and colonoscopies
shorter waiting times for cancer treatments
reduced waiting times for, and increased elective surgery operations
funding for dedicated nurses for cancer patients

The Government is investing in the entire care continuum of the ‘cancer journey’ which will make a real difference to the individual. From the time someone is suspected of having cancer there will be faster access to see a specialist and faster access to treatment once a cancer has been diagnosed. Then they will have access to a dedicated cancer nurse. Supportive care teams around the country are delighted with the concept of dedicated cancer nurses – they see the benefit of having a single point of contact to assist patients and their family/whanau across different parts of the health service.

Aged Care Concerns

Tony — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:38:07 +0000

Since 2006 more than 50 finance companies have collapsed or defaulted stripping thousands of Kiwis on the verge of retirement of their savings. A concern for the Government is that these New Zealanders will not be able to pay for their aged care.
Each district health board pays for its elderly to live in residential care such as a rest home if they require it. In the Waikato, about one third of residents pay for the care themselves, one third are subsidised and the other third are paid for by the DHB and patients’ superannuation.
In Hamilton, the daily cost of age-related residential care is: rest home, $105; dementia care, $142; residential hospital, $179; psychogeriatric, $199.
This costs the region’s health board $64 million a year. The board also spent $12.29 million on in-patient assessment, transition and rehabilitation services, $16.8 million on home and community support services and $1.57 million on respite care.
Of the total $102 million, $18.3 million worth of services were provided by Health Waikato, and the balance was provided by 65 non-government organisations.
The spending was 10.3 per cent of the total Waikato DHB . The over-65 population is projected to increase by more than 16,500 people, from 52,000 people .$102 million was spent annually in the Waikato region on aged care now to almost 69,000 people in 2021.
The over-85 population would increase by more than 2000 during the same time.l

AGED CARE COST
* Older people’s services cost Waikato DHB $102 million annually
* $64 million of this covers rest homes, hospitals, and dementia facilities.
* Over-65s predicted to be one in five in 10 to 20 years.

The dilemma we as a country now face is that there is not enough money available to provide services on a continual basis for this vulnerable sector of society. At Supercare4u.com we find that being able to offer non-medical emergency transportation at an affordable price compared to traditional ambulances is a positive step for future budgets. Although we are just a small boat in the ocean!

Smoking will cost you ………

Tony — Sun, 06 May 2012 06:11:39 +0000

With all the damage that smoking causes to the Health sector ,I Question why we don’t just ban the things.If people want to smoke ,let them grow it themselves. At supercare4u.com I insist that drivers that must smoke do so outside the van and not have the smoke inside the van.Thankfully we only have one driver that does smoke and I keep working on him to quit.There is nothing like a reformed smoker to be the BOSS.
The New Zealand government is seeking to reduce the percentage of smokers in the country from 15 to 5 per cent.
Their goal is to reduce the portion of smokers in the country to 5 per cent by 2025.
At the moment, there are an estimated 650,000 smokers in New Zealand – which is about 15 per cent of its total population of 4.37 million
The government of New Zealand is considering boosting the cost of a pack of cigarettes to $100 by 2020.
The paper recommends an initial $60 price hike in 2013 and then 10 per cent every year until it hits $100.

How to jump out of a perfectly good Aeroplane !!

Tony — Sun, 06 May 2012 03:36:10 +0000

When we have daily operations with Supercare4u.com , we always strive to get clients to their appointments on time ; so to read how the New Zealand Airforce gave fifty sick or at-risk youngsters the time of their lives by leaping out of an air force Hercules yesterday,gives rise to the old joke of jumping out of an Aeroplane.
The members of CanTeen and Project K were taking part in JumpStart – a charity event giving kids with cancer “experience of being alive”.
The Hercules needed five trips to cater for all the drops. About $18,000 was raised, with the money being split between the two charities after event costs were covered.
The air force has supported JumpStart since its inception six years ago with medical and ground support . I congratulate the Airforce with the support they show.

Budget Constraints within the DHB’s

Tony — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 01:11:20 +0000

With the budget defecit in New Zealand ; the Government pressure for financial savings is pushing
regional health board staff to brace for job losses among nursing staff after a leaked memo and bosses acknowledging pressure on debt levels. The leaked memo at Hawke’s Bay District Health Board said 35 nursing jobs were going. Nurses in the Bay of Plenty said they were also facing cuts of about $10 million
Health Minister Tony Ryall yesterday said health boards would receive more money than ever this year. He also said there were more staff working at the health boards – although conceded the amount of work to be done continued to grow. “We are continuing to increase the budget and increase the services.”
At Auckland District Health Board, where staff are currently preparing next years budget ;the rumor is they have to save $60 million. Managers will have to find new and innovative ways of delivering services and efficiencies to make sure the board could still provide all the services it did with the money it was given.
Supercare4u.com is already finding that there are options appearing within Transport to be of assistance to the DHB’s. Our new Patient Transfer Services with stretchers is Increasingly being used as an alternative to the higher costs of the traditional ambulance. With Non Medical Emergency transfers it is logical to utilize alternative services. Supercare4u.com is such a service with staff trained in Pre Hospital Emergency Care.

The BOOK OF THE DEAD does Exist……..

Tony — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 04:54:27 +0000

Once again Down Under comes to the fore when Missing fragments from the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead have been uncovered deep in the stores of the Queensland Museum.The manuscript belonged to a high-ranking Egyptian official who lived in 1420 BC.It was believed to contain magical spells to guide the dead to the afterlife.Parts of the manuscript were discovered in the late 19th Century, but archaeologists have never found it all.World-renowned Egyptologist Dr John Taylor was viewing the museum’s Egyptian collection when a name on a papyrus fragment caught his eye.What has been discovered in Brisbane are the missing portions of this ancient book which has been split up, divided across the world for well over a hundred years. You have to wonder WHY !!!!!

Dr John Taylor was taken to the museum’s storeroom to see more and says what came next is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery.”After a very short time it became apparent that we did indeed have many fragments of the Book of the Dead,” he said.Dr Taylor says the rare specimens belonged to a high priest of the Temple of Amun, around 3,400 years ago.”This is not the papyrus of just anybody, this is one of the top officials from Egypt at the peak of ancient Egypt’s prosperity,” he said.”So it is a significant find, and if we can reconstruct the whole document that’s going to tell us a lot.

Shades of the MUMMY RETURNS……..

Free Tai Chi for Auckland Stroke Victims

Tony — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:28:56 +0000

Tai chi grand master Sufang Miao was sent by the Chinese government to share her knowledge of the traditional exercise.Ms Miao is an internationally recognised grand master of tai chi and she wants to spread her knowledge in New Zealand. She runs the Taichi and Wushu Academy Trust in Sunnybrae and Northcote.
The lessons are free.
Miao’s Taiji Studio holds a class at Sunnybrae Normal Primary School from 7pm to 8pm on Monday and 8pm to 9pm on Thursday. Morning exercise classes are at the basketball court behind Northcote Library from 7.30am from Monday to Saturday. Classes are free.
The therapeutic value of tai chi has been known to Chinese people for thousands of years.
Western medical practices are now recommending patients who have had falls or strokes to practise the ancient art.
Tai chi is covered under ACC for those aged over 65 or 55 for Maori and Pacific people.
Tai chi is known for its ability to maintain health and prevention of illness when practised daily for half an hour. It can help improve concentration and relaxation, improves balance and co-ordination.

Ministry of Education failing disabled pupils

Tony — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:38:47 +0000

The Ministry of Education has received a black mark in a new reoprt that shows that Choice in schooling is “nothing more than an illusion” for high-needs special education pupils.

A survey late last year looked at the choices parents and families have when their disabled child starts school or needs to change schools.

It found about half of the 217 respondents, who had applied for ongoing and reviewable resourcing schemes (ORRS) funding, felt they had “not always had real choice” between schools.

About 25% who had not been able to enrol their child in the school of their choice reported an “unwelcoming” atmosphere, lack of special services and poor equipment and physical access.

For many parents, there is limited choice for their children’s education .

The research also revealed 60% of respondents found the process of finding a school emotionally stressful, 29% found it financially draining, 35% found it negatively affected siblings, and 32% had to enrol their children in distant schools.

When it came to selecting a school, it was found the most important factors were availability of necessary facilities to support the child’s learning needs (51%), school reputation (46%), and attitudes of principals (45%) and teachers (44%).

Parents and caregivers have indicated that in order to improve the process of choosing schools for their children, they want better information and advice, more support and for legal and funding issues to be addressed.

The research added further support to IHC’s case against the Ministry of Education, before the Human Rights Tribunal, about the education system failing disabled pupils.

Legionnaires Disease Outbreak in Auckland

Tony — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:20:30 +0000

Auckland,New Zealand has been inundated with an outbreak of Legionnaires Disease that has claimed one life and the number of reported cases has risen to 11.The sudden increase in reported cases of the potentially fatal lung infection has prompted the health service to ask for urgent chemical treatment in all buildings with air-conditioning that relies on water cooling towers.
On Tuesday the service said it had been notified of nine cases of legionnaires’ disease in the past six weeks. By yesterday, the figure rose to 11.
Legionnaires’ disease, a form of pneumonia, can be caught from the contaminated water cooling towers of large air-conditioning systems, domestic shower heads, spa pools, water blasting and soil, compost and potting mix. The risk from large air-conditioning systems is to the building’s occupants and to people on the streets exposed to contaminated, wind-borne water .

Will New Health Care Initiatives be Viable for our Youth?

Tony — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 08:57:39 +0000

Although It is pleasing to see the New Zealand Government improving services for young people with or at risk of mental health problems; is it too little ,too late! After the horrific rape case at Christmas involving a child ; we in New Zealand are realising that we have a serious mental health problem with our youth. And although Prime Minister John Key has unveiled a $62 million package of initiatives to ensure young people with mental health problems receive better, faster, and more modern help; one in five of our young people will experience some form of mental health problem during the crucial time that they are transitioning to becoming an adult.
The Prime Minister’s Youth Mental Health package works in four different places:
In schools
Online
In families and communities, and
In the health system.
Mr Key said nurses and specially-trained youth workers will be added to lower-decile schools to help identify students who have a mental illness and get them appropriate care. The Positive Behaviour School Wide programme will also be rolled out across all secondary schools to improve the environment young people are learning in.
Along with an overhaul of existing mental health resources, new ideas will be sought through a Social Media Innovations Fund to keep providers of youth services technologically up to date.
The package also contains several other initiatives including a lift in funding for primary mental health care, new wait-time targets for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services and a new Whānau Ora approach.
Although the scheme is viable ,one has to question if the horse has already left the stable. It is jobs that the youth need. Not sitting around on the dole and getting spaced out every day.