What they say
We’ve invited health spokespeople for the parties currently in Parliament to be part of the pre-election political panel on dementia on 1 September.
So far, five parties have accepted the invitation to participate, and we look forward to hearing from the final party.
We asked each political party five questions in preparation for this panel.
We’ve received answers to these questions from one party so far and will update this page as other parties provide their answers.
Questions
ACT New Zealand: ACT’s starting point is always that dementia care should be timely and measured by outcomes. ACT in principle, supports ensuring the idea that our healthcare system needs to do better in early diagnosis and strengthen community support. Funding should be tied to services and providers that work for patients.
ACT New Zealand: ACT believes that community services provide a very valuable service for dementia patients. ACT generally believes that funding is better directed to such services where there are good outcomes, rather than centralised systems which can often leave out the most vulnerable.
ACT New Zealand: ACT supports practical prevention and early intervention through primary care and community services. It is clear that early intervention can have a massive effect on health outcomes. This could include things like earlier cognitive assessment.
ACT New Zealand: ACT recognises the role of unpaid carers in supporting people with dementia. ACT would focus on practical support, including simpler access to respite, clearer information, carer education, and better coordination with health services. Any expansion would need to be funded transparently and measured against carer wellbeing and reduced crisis admissions.
ACT New Zealand: ACT would consider the Advisory Group’s recommendations when they are released.
We look forward to hearing from the rest of the parties in response to these questions. Find out more and register for the panel online.