Luke Kirkness: People need to take more ownership of themselves

Health Minister Andrew Little.

OPINION:

Bay of Plenty general practitioners say GPs could collapse under “relentless pressure”.

An association of GP owners has launched a campaign to address what it says is an uneven distribution of healthcare in New Zealand.

It comes after Te Whatu Ora’s annual New Zealand Health survey results revealed 10.7 per cent of adults had not seen a GP due to cost in 2021/2022.

GPs are private businesses subsidised through Te Whatu Ora, meaning they are constrained as to how much they can charge.

I’d hate to see how expensive the bill would be if they weren’t.

Last month, Health Minister Andrew Little announced funding of $200 million to tackle pay parity in the health sector, but it excluded GP nurses. Little claims he is yet to see evidence that shows there is a pay difference between them and their counterparts in hospitals.

To resolve the problem, governments could look to bring down university course costs - or eliminate them - so that doctors don’t need to charge expensive patient fees to recover their debt.

A more practicable solution is to get people to take better ownership of their health.

The same health survey found 34.3 per cent of adults (aged 15 and over) were classified as obese, up from 31.2 per cent in 2019/20. It also found 12.7 per cent of children aged between two and 14 were obese, up from 9.5 per cent in 2019/20. The survey did not measure body size (height, weight and waist) and blood pressure due to Covid-19 restrictions. Data from a panel of GPs was used to estimate trends.

I find those statistics alarming, especially when you consider the evolution of technology and physical inactivity. I think people are doing lessnowadays.

Losing weight is hard work. It’s something I’ve struggled with my whole life.

I’ve tried countless diets that have worked in that I lost fat quickly, but it would all come screaming back. Often I found myself heavier than when I started.

Over the past year though, I’ve struck a balance.

I’ve lost over 25 kilograms since October 2021, and I’ve discovered, for me, losing weight is about moderation.

I doubt GPs are going to get much sympathy for their financial woes or more money from the Government.

Relying on assistance from the Government isn’t a practical solution - instead, everyone must take ownership of themselves.

I’m not saying it won’t be tough, but it’s not impossible. We only need to look at the health survey again to see daily smoking rates have decreased from 16 per cent in 2011/12 to 9 per cent in 2020/21. If you know a smoker, you know how hard it is to kick the habit.

When people start taking better ownership of their actions, our health system will reap the benefits.