Grey Power president, Gayle Chambers, and national secretary, Jo Millar’s recent parliamentary visit to raise a number of age concerns was, in general, met favourably. GAYLE CHAMBERS reports.
Scheduled to meet with five ministers, first up was Act MP, Laura Trask, on behalf of Act leader, David Seymour. We appealed for a review of the free shingles vaccine time frame for seniors which is presently available ‘free’ for only 12 months from the date of one’s 65th birthday.
We reminded the Minister that when this ‘free period’ was instigated there were many seniors, 66 years and over, who were ineligible for the free vaccine, yet the effects of shingles can worsen as people age and this can result in more hospitalisations.
Although aware the Government cannot interfere with the decisions of Pharmac, we asked her to support having the vaccine available to all seniors 65 years and older.
Ms Trask offered to look into the problem and share the provided information with Todd Stephenson, the Minister responsible for patient advocacy. She also advised on how to take the matter further.
At our second meeting with Labour leader, Chris Hipkins, long waiting times for geriatric surgery were highlighted.
Presentation of a recent Grey Power survey clearly showed him that surgeries, especially those for hips, knees and cataracts, were not being provided nearly quickly enough and, subsequently, resulted in ongoing pain and deterioration of the condition. In addition to the survey, we also presented a submission to government on wait times for geriatric surgery.
The current low threshold for rates rebates and accommodation supplements was also discussed and when we pointed out these were totally inadequate, especially in light of the country’s rising living costs, Mr Hipkins agreed to look at Grey Power’s research.
Another issue was the need for more education around the benefits of KiwiSaver, especially for low-income workers who will rely on KiwiSaver in their retirement.
We broached the ‘testy’ question of driving analysis for those over the age of 80 years with the Minister for Transport, Pakuranga MP, Simeon Brown, challenging him on the relevance of the cognitive tests presently used by many doctors, in particular for those seniors showing no signs of cognitive impairment.
Because his father had recently encountered the same [test] problem, the Minister said he had some first-hand knowledge of our concerns. However, we wanted to emphasise the need for more consistency in the way driving licences for this age group are renewed.
We strongly urged for greater emphasis on a person’s driving ability rather than on cognitive testing as the first defence measure. Also, we indicated there was confusion over whether the tests were mandatory. Mr Brown has undertaken to gather further information.
Rates rebates and accommodation supplements were again raised and we also asked Mr Brown to pass a submission to Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, regarding the reintegration of all-purpose sirens into the upgrade of New Zealand’s emergency management system.
Among his portfolios, Mr Luxon, is the Minister of Emergency Management so it was appropriate for this [the submission] to go to him.
After speaking with the Transport Minister, we met with NZ First MP, Casey Costello, Minister for Seniors. We addressed wait times for geriatric surgeries and the disparities in home care support services, outlining concerns over inadequate audit processes for both service provider agencies and industry carers.
We advocated looking into the current funding model and the lack of adherence to care plans. The Minister assured us that the aged care review would provide greater transparency of services.
Other matters raised were educating seniors on appointing Enduring Powers of Attorney while they were able to do so and, where possible, free doctor consultations for prostate cancer PSA testing.
Our meeting with MP for Taiere, Ingrid Leary, (Labour spokesperson for seniors) was cut short when she was called to ‘the house’.
However, we managed to talk briefly with her about the shingles vaccine age availability and the disparities in home care support services. I presented her with a folder containing all the evidence we have supporting our concerns and she asked us to provide any extra information regarding care contracts.
Some Ministers indicated they were prepared to follow up on our concerns.
