9 February 2017

Labour, Greens and Grey Power investigation into aged care starts tomorrow

Labour and the Green Party are joining with Grey Power to investigate the state of aged care in New Zealand, and will be touring the country to hear from patients, professionals and families over the next two months.

“All New Zealanders deserve a high standard of medical care, and it’s clear that for many older people in rest homes or residential facilities, those standards still aren’t being met”, said Labour health spokesperson Annette King.

“This tour will revisit the 2010 Aged Care review undertaken by Labour, the Greens and Grey Power which saw 20 nationwide meetings with over 1200 people involved.

“We will be investigating whether the issues identified by our 2010 report are still present today, and whether any of the recommendations have been implemented,” said Mrs King.

“I am looking forward to hearing from our elderly people and their families about their experiences with home support services and residential aged care,” said Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei.

“These stories will be used to update the 2010 report and will help us set the agenda for a Labour–Green Government in 2017.

“Over the past six years, the Government has not followed up on most of the recommendations from our report. Many of the same problems with quality and consistency of home support services and aged residential care remain.

“People working in aged care and elderly people being cared for deserve better. We want to hear directly from them and welcome anyone who is interested in sharing their experiences to attend these meetings,” said Ms Turei.

The inquiry will begin with a meeting on Friday 10th February at 1pm, at the Golden Bay Senior Citizens Hall, 88 Commerce Street, Takaka.

Media and members of the public are welcome to attend.

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