Election 2017 - Party Policies - Communities - Senior Citizens
27th May 17, 9:56am
by
Senior Citizens
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Not yet available on their website.
- Improve the quality and consistency of care through the use of a common assessment tool, a consistent level of care across all DHBs and updated care standards.
- Improved accountability throughout the aged care system through the establishment of an Aged Care Commissioner, reporting and performance measures based on health outcomes and improved complaints mechanisms.
- Investigate affordable and appropriate housing options for seniors to provide a transition between living at home and residential care.
- Encourage innovation in the delivery of aged care to cater to the needs of a growing and diverse population.
- Increase funding for aged care providers and ensure that the funding model provides viable aged care services for specific communities, including small towns and rural areas.
- Read more here.
- Undertake a review of the differences in government assistance provided to foster carers and to kin carers (including grandparents) with a view to ensuring that both groups are treated equitably.
- Review and investigate updating the aged care standards to set a nationally consistent baseline; and improve the consistency of treatment criteria between District Health Boards.
- Establish the Office of the Aged Care Commissioner and a position of Aged Care Commissioner.
- Encourage the development of more housing that meets lifetime design standards for older people thereby better enabling seniors to age in place, including a review of building standards.
- Support innovation in aged care to provide more inclusive care which caters to the diverse needs of everyone in aged care.
- Read more here, here, and here.
- Establish a new ministerial portfolio to ensure greater government accountability for retirement policy and greater investment in aged care for the benefit of all kaumātua.
- Develop government enabled co-investment options with whānau, hapū, iwi or community housing providers and private equity firms to support the building of fully serviced, high quality retirement communities.
- Increase navigators for Whānau Ora and other support workers connecting and engaging with our elderly, to provide a safe support network to prevent elder abuse.
- Increase support from the Oranga Tamariki Agency for grandparents raising their grandchildren to ensure that grandparents are well resourced to raise their grandchildren – to get the right support, at the right time.
- Establish a programme that allows young people to be mentored and taught life skills, budgeting, driving lessons, DIY and home craft skills by kaumātua willing to offer their knowledge, time and support.
- Read more here.
- We’ve backed the popular SuperGold Card public transport concession with $41 million of additional funding so it can provide more than 10 million trips a year.
- Rolling our SuperGold card benefits to more retailers around New Zealand.
- Rolling out $18 GP visits to an extra 600,000 lower income New Zealanders – meaning 300,000 over 65s will now be eligible for cheap GP visits.
- Increased the number of elective surgeries for things like joint replacements, cataracts, cancerous skin lesions and cardiac surgeries from 118,000 per year when we came into office to 178,000 now. And we’ll reach 200,000 over the next few years.
- Committed to meaningful and effective action against elder abuse and social isolation, and have launched the new Elder Abuse Response Service and 24/7 phone line.
- Read more here and here.
- Continue to extend the benefits and features of the SuperGold Card. Ensure that SuperGold Card holders receive three free doctor’s visits a year; promote a 10 percent discount on power bills for SuperGold Card holders during winter; and investigate 100% subsidised hearing aids and spectacles for SuperGold Card holders.
- Remove income and asset testing for long stay aged hospital care services.
- Review lottery funding criteria for community transport for senior groups and provide transport options in rural New Zealand.
- Maintain core hospital services ensuring that senior citizens have timely access to acute emergency services.
- Ensure senior citizens receive recognition for the thousands of hours of voluntary service they perform in the community and provide opportunities for paid contributions.
- Read more here.
Not yet available on their website.
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