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services, and policy changes. Check back regularly for fresh content that matters to seniors, their whānau, and caregivers.
Denise Irvine is a Hamilton freelance journalist and food writer, and a regular Waikato Times contributor.
OPINION: I had a medical appointment recently with a nurse who used relentlessly first-person plural pronouns as she
stepped me through a list of questions:
“Do we know our height? What is our date of birth? Are we on any medications? Do we have any existing medical conditions? Who is our next of
kin? I’ll just check our weight, can we please pop onto the scales.” And so on.
Ministerial advisory group to look at changes to aged care funding model
This from RNZ: Changes to the aged care funding model are on the cards, with a ministerial advisory group being established to make
recommendations to a system the government says is
out of date.
The government currently spends $2.5 billion a year on aged care, which is provided privately.
Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said there were "major political considerations" attached to any changes, and so an independent
group was needed
to make recommendations,
as well as long-term thinking and a bipartisan approach.
She said the announcement was about better health outcomes for the 900,000 New Zealanders who were over 65, and a better, fit-for-purpose
aged care system.
The number of New Zealanders aged 65 or older is expected to increase to 1.3 million by 2040.
"We know that New Zealand has very good aged care, provided by dedicated people. However, the way that these services are funded is outdated
and does not recognise the connection between the various parts of the system or the future investment required," said Costello, who is also
Minister for Seniors.
"Essentially, our aged care model is out of date and piecemeal change isn't the solution."
Still on the clock: No stepping off the treadmill for the over 65s
Read The Post:
Turning 65 used to mean both a gold watch and a portal to the euphemistically-monikered “golden years” of a comfortable retirement.
Yet as life expectancy grows and living costs soar the idea of stepping off the working treadmill in your mid 60s has become increasingly
unrealistic for many.
At 24% we have one of the highest rates of people aged over 65 who are still working, compared with other countries such as Australia (12%)
and the UK (10%).
According to StatsNZ there are almost 200,000 working New Zealanders aged 65 or older. Almost 90,000 are aged over 70.
Certainly there’s any number of politicians, chief executives and property developers still on the tools into their 60s and 70s - and 2023
census data shows 42,000 people earning over $100,000 while collecting superannuation.
Age Concern New Zealand Supports New Report On Age-Proofing Aotearoa
This from Scoop:
Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the findings and recommendations in the latest report from WSP and The Helen Clark Foundation, titled
Age-proofing Aotearoa: Rethinking our infrastructure for an ageing population.
“We are pleased to see so many of our own priority areas addressed in this report, backed by robust data analysis. As a charity with a proud
heritage leading, advocating, connecting, and collaborating to see the delivery of local services, we do not have the resources to develop
such an in-depth data analysis ourselves. We see this as an extremely valuable contribution for decision-makers,” says Karen
Billings-Jensen, Chief Executive, Age Concern New Zealand.
At today’s report release at Parliament, Kali Mercier, WSP Fellow and Deputy Director of the Helen Clark Foundation, asked guests to
consider their age in 2048, when some regions will be experiencing ‘hyper-ageing’, with 30% of residents expected to be aged 65. “It was a
valuable reflection of the future, with some decision-makers present aged over 65 around that time. Their decisions now will be personal for
them in 23 years” says Mrs Billings-Jensen.
I’ve long felt uncomfortable with the idea that women become invisible with age; that now I’m in my 50s, I should be prepared to fade from
view. Is that really how it is?
When I asked other women in my Gen X cohort about their experiences, they shared more than one tale of apparent physical invisibility with
me: “I had my first experience of invisibility last week – I was standing at a counter ready to purchase, and two other people (who were
standing behind me) got served first”, said one woman. Another shared something similar, adding “It surprised me as I am tall and very hard
to overlook!”
Some women have experienced it showing up in working life: “I’m definitely feeling invisible in the job market at the moment,” one woman
told me. “I have applied for over 30 jobs in the last three months, and not a nibble back. I’m not sure if it’s just the job market, gender,
age, seniority…. or all of the above.”
Innovative Māori aged care model set to bring aroha, manaakitanga to kaumātua
Aged care in Aotearoa New Zealand is in crisis. Reports of staff being underpaid and over worked are common as are the reports of elderly
residents not getting the care they should. Kaitiaki is exploring what’s happening in this space. We talk with a granddaughter who is on a
mission to transform aged care for Māori, starting with kaumātua from her own tribe.
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