The Post understands a Health New Zealand restructure proposal would disestablish the two national roles that look after the care of the dying – a palliative care system design manager and senior adviser.
Experts say, the plan to axe the two people dedicated to fixing the postcode lottery of care for dying Kiwis is disturbing, retrograde and potentially disastrous.
The national palliative care adviser was appointed in 2022, after palliative care experts called services for dying Kiwis a neglected, underfunded mess.
Hospital Palliative Care Aotearoa chairperson and palliative care specialist Sinead Donnelly said the plan was “disturbing, demoralising, distressing and retrograde”.
Donnelly said specialists were also upset at the staffing imbalance between palliative care and assisted dying, which has a team of around five dedicated staff. Of the 38,000 Kiwis who die every year, less than 2% use assisted dying services.
“It looks as if Te Whatu Ora is interested in developing assisted dying as a service, and they’re not interested in developing palliative care as a service … So that’s profoundly disturbing to us as well.”
Hospice New Zealand chief executive Wayne Naylor said removing palliative care’s national voice was “potentially disastrous” and could jeopardise 18 months of work to improve services for the dying.
“For the people who want to have a safe and supported death, and who don’t choose assisted dying, this is like a kick in the face to them, like the Government and Health New Zealand doesn’t actually care.”
A report last month reiterated the urgent need for a national palliative care service for children, with three out of four dying children missing out on specialist help.
Its author, child palliative care specialist Amanda Evans, was deeply disappointed by the Health NZ proposal and worried it would further delay – or kill off – any hope of a national paediatric palliative care service.
“My concern is that it’s going to be overlooked, and people wind up worse off than where we are now.”
The national palliative care adviser role was a bridge between all the different services caring for the dying, including family doctors, hospitals and hospices, Evans said.
Health Minister Shane Reti said he remained committed to developing a nationally consistent approach to palliative care. Asked whether the planned staff cuts were acceptable, his office said Health NZ was still consulting on proposed changes, and referred queries to them.
Health NZ national director of planning, funding and outcomes, Dale Bramley, said Health NZ was “committed to moving toward a more sustainable future for New Zealand healthcare”.
Original article: https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/360527404/experts-slam-planned-palliative-care-staff-cut
