People in rest homes should be able to upgrade their experience by paying extra, says sitting Hawke's Bay District Health Board member Peter Dunkerley.
A candidate in the upcoming board election, he said rest homes for the elderly in Hawke's Bay should have different classes of treatment. Those that paid more would receive better treatment and conditions.
"All our rest-home care is very flat level at the moment," he said.
"It is all the same because the Government doesn't let anybody contribute to the cost of it privately.
"If the family want to contribute to their mother or father in a rest home for a higher tier care ... that is not really possible at the moment - what we give you is what you get.