HEALTH POLICY

 

PREAMBLE:

The Conservative Party is committed to educating, enabling and incentivising New Zealanders to take personal responsibility for their own physical, emotional, spiritual and mental health, and live more healthy and productive lives. We will do this by emphasising the benefits of prevention and personal responsibility.

 The Conservative Party also believes the health system can be more just and efficient in the delivery of health services, and we seek to address these shortcomings.

SHORT POLICY SUMMARY

POLICIES

The Conservative Party is committed to:

* Introducing age related, government funded, health checks to enable early intervention in health issues common to New Zealanders;

* Incentivizing New Zealanders to take advantage of private health insurance by making it tax deductible;

* Investigate the creation of Kiwi Health Accounts to offer New Zealanders as individuals and families greater choice and control in the way they engage with their health care. We believe in the importance of prevention and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, which can reduce the annual cost burden for an individual and family on the health system, and any credit can be rolled over for future use in times of need;

* Additional support for rural health in communities through increasing doctor training and incentivizing doctors, nurses and midwives to work in hard to staff rural areas. We also propose to better equip Plunket through government funding to cater for the needs of young rural New Zealanders;

* Investigate new ways of delivering efficient and practical aged care. We note that there are some serious concerns that many New Zealanders have in terms of aged care in New Zealand. We seek to investigate ways that we can provide options to New Zealand’s elderly and their families to ensure that we are doing best by elderly people;

* Opposing euthanasia in any form and ensuring palliative care of the highest quality is available to protect our elderly and the most vulnerable from abuse and pain;

* Providing health education in schools that does in fact result in healthy living, that respects cultural and traditional standards, and standards held by most religious communities, and that shows a belief in young people that they have the capacity to control their emotions and chemistry for a more healthy and beneficial lifestyle;

* Conservative Party recognises that healthy relationships are based on good communication and commitment, not casual sex. We would therefore encourage relationship training in schools from year 1 and sex education limited to  over 16 year olds.

* Parental notification of sex education be required and material should be made available in full to parents prior to class presentation for permission to be given or declined.

* Ensuring parental notification occurs and permission is received in regards to all medical care and procedures for children aged 16 and under, including abortion and immunisations;

* Recognising that the causes of health issues of individuals and families need to be considered and addressed to ensure a wrap around approach is applied. For example poor housing conditions can cause ongoing health problems;

* Creating a means for secure country wide access to District Health Board’s Databases of patient history to provide for better care of patients seeking help when visiting in another DHB Area, and investigating reducing the number of DHBs to 5 across the country;

* Making government subsidies for eligible patients available across all health districts so that a doctor’s visit when away from home does not cost the same as it does an overseas visitor.

* Research the benefits of providing for, and encouraging, free of charge annual dental checks for all adults from school leavers up.

* Introducing a ‘user pays’ hospital system, whereby anyone requiring hospital  treatment for any alcohol or drug related incidents will be required to contribute towards the cost of that treatment on a percentage basis. These fees will be waived, if the patient successfully undergoes a 6 month drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme;

* Restricting ACC cover to Tax Residents and removing automatic cover available to temporary visitors to New Zealand on visitors visas or on work visas of less than 6 months duration, making travel/health insurance a requirement for a visa to be issued.

* Abortion: Need to Amend CSA Act 1977.

See our Families Policy for details on this. Abortion is a Justice issue, not a health issue.