New Zealand Society and Healthcare - Essay Example

Sociology: New Zealand Introduction to New Zealand Society and Health Care New Zealand is a small country of two islands with a population of about four million people in the South Pacific roughly midway between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle. Even with Australia, it has a distance of more than a thousand miles. Despite this apparent geographic isolation from the world, New Zealand is one of the first country to start with social welfare and social health and care measures. Historically, New Zealand was long known for its advanced social legislation. It pioneered female suffrage, and was among the first countries to adopt social security, old age pensions, and universal health care (Robert D. Keall, 2000, p. 1). Social health care is indeed one of the most important foundations for providing a Social Health Care System of Australia quite similar to New Zealand (Surjit S. Wadhwa, 2002) healthy social environment in a country fast changing towards ever new challenges and newly evolving societal ethos. The above mentioned projection of Australian health care system appears quite similar to health care in New Zealand as well. This approach to the emerging multi-cultural society in New Zealand is evident in the interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840. Especially Article 2 of this Treaty extends really democratic values so necessary for a healthy society: Article 3 constitutes a guarantee of legal equality between Mori and other citizens of New Zealand. This means that all New Zealand citizens are equal before the law. Furthermore, the common law system is selected by the Treaty as the basis for that equality, although human rights accepted under international law are also incorporated. Article 3 has an important social significance in the implicit assurance that social rights would be enjoyed equally by Mori with all New Zealand citizens of whatever origin. Special measures to attain that equal enjoyment of social benefits are allowed by international law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi). This shows New Zealand's nearly 170 years of history of concerns with sociological and other matters for the benefit of society and its people. Health care and its public and private funding in New Zealand are of complex nature. Policies are formulated but they are weak on the financial and implementation front. Several health providers are there. New Zealand Care is however the most opted for and sought after health provider. Entire funding is not properly diversified into required areas of health care. Senior citizens, gambling addicts, Youth and Mori community suffer the most on this account of improper funding from public sources and somewhat selective vision of various governments and private actors. Facilities are there. They do not have that reach, range and depth that is actually necessary. Many focussed programmes are also there although the entire social health system depends largely on General Practitioners. Despite newly emerging challenges, New Zealand's health care system is regarded as one of the best within the OECD group of countries. Citizens of New Zealand have access to a wide range of free and government-subsidised healthcare options, including hospital and doctor services, free public hospital treatment and free 24-hour accident and emergency clinics (http://www.globalvisas.com/new_zealand/healthcare_2.html ). Despite several improvements and reforms, the New Zealand Health System is in crisis leading to social insecurities (http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/newsletter/mar04/09.php). GPs fleeing to Australia, waiting lists for operations, outrageous pain-ranking due to prolonged waiting for operations, appalling working conditions, factual problem of asset testing, increasing red tapism of increasing bureaucracy and quite often happening delays in settling the health claims etc. All this is disturbing the social security networking and its efficiency. It is also widening peoples' pain and distress and difficulties. In the long run all this can affect the entire Kiwi population in diverse and adverse ways on a wider national scale. Such health scenario is apparently resulting in increasing domestic violence as well. This is very dangerous and, in this way, one thing may lead to several other crises. Even the departing Governor-General of New Zealand, Dame Silvia Cartwright, lamented the country's "dark secret": we have an appalling amount of domestic violence. New Zealand's child murder rate is 0.9 per 100,000 children, compared with 0.4 in Britain and 0.1 in Spain. This makes it third worst in the OECD. Reliable wife-beating statistics are hard to come by, but there can be no doubt that it is also unusually popular in New Zealand. There are never vacancies at the women's refuge. Nor is violence only a family pastime. The overall murder rate is 2.5 per 100,000 people, compared with 1.5 in Britain. We have just as many assaults per person as Britain and 50 per cent more rapes. New Zealand is not only violent, it is (relatively) poor too. Per capita GDP is only $26,000 (14,500), compared with $35,000 in Australia and $37,000 in Britain. This is not because New Zealanders do not work. We have one of the highest employment rates in the world. It is just that what gets produced by all this work is not worth very much. New Zealand has a low-productivity, low-wage economy (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article1073096.ece). Health is indeed real wealth of a society and nation. That is why there are governmental and private health providers in New Zealand. There job is to see and preserve the health our country. There are several health providers covering different areas such as trauma, stress, other disorders in youth, senior citizens, other health concerns with specialized focus etc (http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/wpgIndex/Links-New+Zealand+Health+Contents). For example, Abortion Services in New Zealand, Agewell, Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand, Arthritis Foundation of New Zealand Inc. , Australia New Zealand Therapeutic Products Authority, Biosecurity New Zealand, Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind, Blood Service - New Zealand, and so many others - at least four to five health providers in each category of alphabetical order from "A" to "Z". Australasia's largest eHealth company announced today that New Zealand's largest healthcare provider the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB), collaborating with Counties - Manukau District Health Board (CMDHB) and Waitemata District Health Board (WDHB), have selected IBA Pharmacy. IBA's hospital pharmacy suite will be the foundation for the implementation of a region wide medication management strategy. ADHB will lead and fund the initial implementation valued at over $650,000 with subsequent phases of the implementation at CMDHB and WDHB estimated to be valued at over $1M. Capable of being implemented in a multi hospital environment and integrated with a full clinical decision support system, IBA's Pharmacy solution will manage and integrate all aspects of ADHB's inpatient pharmacy dispensing, drug ordering and stock management for the Auckland City, Starship Children's and National Women's Hospitals. "IBA's hospital pharmacy systems are rapidly becoming the standard for the Asia Pacific Region. Healthcare organisations are recognising the capacity of our proven world class clinical solutions to meet the needs of collaborating health professionals operating in an integrated healthcare environment", said Steve Garrington CEO of IBA Health. "We have secured the last 9 buying decisions for hospital based pharmacy systems in New Zealand, ahead of Clinical Systems vendors from the USA and Great Britain. The prestigious Johns Hopkins-NUH International Medical Centre recently selected IBA to automate its Pharmacy needs. This follows successful installations in 2004 at the National Eye Centre and the National Heart Centre in Singapore and the 5 year contract with Healthcare Solutions Middle East to deliver IBA's web based Medication Management solution to 21 facilities managed by the Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS) Dubai." "Rolling out IBA Pharmacy is the first step in an eventual multi site implementation of a medication management strategy across the three District Health Board's in the Auckland Region" said John Cox, Project Manager, Auckland Regional Pharmacy Project. Mr Cox led Auckland's selection team which included representatives from across the region. "Given the variety of ways and multitude of location in which healthcare is delivered across the region, we believe the multi site, integrated functionality of IBA Pharmacy will perform very effectively in this complex environment." (http://www.ibahealth.com/html/iba_health_selected_by_new_zealand_s_largest_health_provider.cfm) Then there are so many other health providers too such as according to districts as well (http://www.seek.co.nz/profiles/healthcare/index.ascx). The government and private health providers are all failing to resolve health challenges of four million people of New Zealand. Maybe because this question of health and the nature of our society are so intertwined that various actors in this business of health providers do not find it financially worthwhile to go according to needs of society. Even IBA Pharmacy also plans a lot but it is not able to deliver goods not only to poorer Maori people but also to larger population. The problem of foodbank is also related to health and required calories management on daily basis - especially for Maori people. For Pita Paraone, Maori Affairs Spokesperson: Given that many Maori are still languishing at the bottom, there is obviously a need for a fresh approach. Current events have put race relations to the forefront, and politicians are desperately trying to grab the headlines off each other - but that's politics. What needs to be remembered amid all the rhetoric and political point scoring currently going on is that Maori bashing is not going to get anyone anywhere. Don Brash is exploiting a vein of public perception that Maori are taking resources off the rest of the population. The debate over the foreshore and seabed has only added to that perception over the last nine months. However, reports such as the one on foodbank use tell us otherwise. Despite the Government's "good news" items on low unemployment and socially aware policies, Maori are still struggling. Needsbased or race-based makes no difference when you can't afford to provide for your family. New Zealand First believes that it's time to ask why present policies are not providing real opportunities. We view this report as a wake-up call. What is needed more than anything right now is clear, rational policy development that provides opportunities for everybody, including Maori, to improve their lives and the lives of their children (http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/newsletter/mar04/11.php). Then there are other and more sensitive areas especially related to children. Here also our health providers are failing a lot. Why Maybe because of the resource and global financial crunch and recession. Children with special needs in the Wellington region are waiting more than a year for help - the longest in New Zealand - because of an acute shortage of specialists. And those who have already waited 12 months or more for an appointment with the developmental pediatrician at Wellington's child development service have just learnt they will have to wait even longer. Clinics are running nine months behind and parents have been warned that further delays are possible. Hutt Valley families face similar delays: the wait for a "routine" assessment is about nine months (http://www.stuff.co.nz/4733956a11.html). Above mentioned analysis about our society and its social health needs clearly show that even the Treaty of Waitangi's principle of equal oppornuties for all citizens of New Zealand is yet to be implemented in the social health and social security fields. Most of the health providers are less bothered about providing proper health care and services. Instead, their main goal appears to be financial profit. Until there emerges a real political will and a massive social movement for securing the rights of the people, there seems to be little hope for further improvement in the concerned areas. References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Waitangi and http://www.encyclopedia4u.com/t/treaty-of-waitangi.html http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/newsletter/mar04/09.php http://www.globalvisas.com/new_zealand/healthcare_2.html http://www.ibahealth.com/html/iba_health_selected_by_new_zealand_s_largest_health_provider.cfm http://www.nzfirst.org.nz/newsletter/mar04/11.php http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article1073096.ece (paragraphs integrated for added emphasis.) http://www.seek.co.nz/profiles/healthcare/index.ascx http://www.stuff.co.nz/4733956a11.html Keall, Robert D. (2002). New Zealand. (land and property taxation). The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, see http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-1901590_ITM Wadhwa, Surjit S. (2002). Customer Satisfaction and Health Care Delivery Systems: Commentary with Australian Bias. The Internet Journal of Nuclear Medicine.Volume 1 Number 1. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article1073096.ece Read More