Stewart Barbara: General Debate 
Stewart Barbara: General Debate 
[Volume:638;Page:8843] 
BARBARA STEWART (NZ First) 
: 
 On behalf of New Zealand First I am pleased to take a call in this debate. This week there has been bad news and good news for the elderly in New Zealand. The bad news is that an Auckland University study has found that up to 70 percent of the medication histories of elderly patients admitted to Auckland City Hospital are incorrect a statistic that definitely does not give anyone much confidence. Seventy percent is far too high a figure. This study follows a report by the Health and Disability Commissioner into the death of an Auckland man after the hospital confused a fax from his general practitioner with someone else’s records. What did the confusion do? It resulted in the administration of a fatal combination of incorrect drugs. That was reported in the papers yesterday. 
As a group the elderly are particularly at risk from that sort of carelessness as they are often taking several medicines at once. We know that there are other groups that do this as well. If this one small study reflects the situation in Auckland then what is happening in the rest of the country? Systems must be improved or new ones developed to reduce the possibility of fatal human error. We were pleased to hear yesterday that the Minister of Health has indicated that Budget funds will be made available to develop an improved barcode system. That should be a small step in the right direction and we look forward to seeing that initiative implemented. We all know that being admitted to hospital is stressful enough for the elderly without them having the extra concern that they may fall victim to unintentional negligence on the part of the medical staff. 
The good news for the elderly this week is yesterday’s pre-announcement of funding for elder care that will be in this year’s Budget. In New Zealand First we are absolutely delighted there will be this huge investment into the elder care sector. We made an increase in the funding of this sector one of the priorities in our confidence and supply agreement with the Government and we have been working with the Government to secure this increase the second in successive Budgets. One hundred and fifty million dollars over 4 years will be invested in residential care and another $81.2 million will be available to help people to stay in their homes if they wish to do so. This is the largest-ever investment in the care and support of the elderly and in New Zealand First we are absolutely delighted to have played a part in this achievement. 
 After years and years of shameful neglect the level of pay for those who work with the elderly is to be increased. This recognition is very long overdue but is absolutely essential if we are to retain the services of those who provide these vital support services for seniors. The turnover rates in this area have been too high for far too long. Everyone in this House is very aware that this money will actually provide a tremendous boost for workers in the sector for wages and for training which is absolutely critical. It has been a really sad reflection on the workers in this particular industry that in previous years they could actually earn more by going out and picking fruit than they could by staying within the industry. We know that looking after our elderly is hard work heavy work and very demanding work. The staff turnover is far higher than it should ever have been and the standards of care have often been lower than they should have been. 
Both Minister Hodgson and New Zealand First will be looking to see that a significant proportion of the increased funds is actually used to bolster wages and is not diverted anywhere else by district health boards. We definitely do not want to see that happen. We want the structural problems that plague this sector to be addressed and this vital investment will do just that. We want there to be a general improvement in the provision of services and we are absolutely committed to ensuring that the improvements are sustainable over the long term not just in 2007.