Health Plan Ignores New Zealanders With The Worst Health Outcomes

IHC is calling on the Government to stop leaving
intellectually disabled people behind in health
reforms.

Last week’s tabling of Te Pae Tata – The
New Zealand Health Plan 2024–2027, signals a major
investment in rebuilding the country’s health
system.

But IHC says the plan fails the very group
with the worst and most costly health outcomes in New
Zealand – people with an intellectual
disability.

“Despite the rhetoric of a
patient-focused system, this plan does not target the
population most in need,” says IHC Senior Advocate Shara
Turner.

“Life expectancy for people with an
intellectual disability is up to 18 years shorter than the
general population. Māori with an intellectual disability
die even younger. These are some of the worst inequities in
our health system and they are being
ignored.”

The new plan, developed by
Health New Zealand under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act
2022, focuses on faster wait times and hospital efficiency.
It makes sweeping promises to deliver “real results” for
patients and improve “access for all New Zealanders” but
offers only a vague and uncosted list of actions for
disabled people.

The section on
disability is largely aspirational, lacking the kind of
targeted action, investment and accountability that the rest
of the plan demands.

A silent crisis in health
care

People with an intellectual disability face
multiple, intersecting barriers when trying to access basic
healthcare:

• They are 2.5 times more likely to be
  hospitalised for something preventable
• They are
  almost 3 times more likely to use emergency
  services
• Secondary healthcare costs for this group
  are nearly five times higher than for others – driven by
  avoidable crisis care

These statistics are even
worse for Māori with an intellectual disability. Māori men
with intellectual disabilities die on average 12 years
earlier than Māori men without, and face higher rates of
diabetes, dementia and mental illness than any other
population in Aotearoa.

“This is a group that needs
preventative, accessible, human rights-based care,” says
Shara. “Instead, they are being treated as an
afterthought.”

IHC’s call to action

IHC is
calling on Health Minister Simeon Brown to urgently revise
the health plan and commit to a focused, measurable response
for people with an intellectual disability. IHC
proposes:

1. Comprehensive annual health checks for
   all people with an intellectual disability – fully funded,
   as seen in the UK and Australia.
2. Targeted screening
   programmes and mental health support.
3. Specialist
   intellectual disability healthcare roles to build clinical
   knowledge and leadership.
4. Mandatory training on
   ableism, communication, and human rights for all healthcare
   professionals.
5. Plain language and Easy Read health
   information, as well as improved health literacy and
   advocacy tools.
6. A national strategy to address
   overmedication and poor care transitions across the
   lifespan.
7. Disability data collection – including a
   health marker in the National Health Index and a national
   mortality review for this population.

“We’ve
got the research. We’ve got the roadmap,” says Shara.
“This isn’t just a disability issue, it’s a public
health
failure.”

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