020707oceanianews1

New Zealand: Age Concern

Call for easier access to drugs for chronic conditions

According to Age Concern New Zealand older people will have more chronic conditions and will find it more difficult to navigate the health system and access services than younger individuals, despite assurances from the National Health Committee.

Also, the organisation says that the burden of chronic illness on the health system could be reduced if newer medicines for Alzheimer’s disease were widely available in New Zealand. At present the country’s licensing body questions whether they work and does not subsidise them, although they are available in many other countries.

Age Concern’s chief executive, Ann Martin, believes that such medications are effective and that, if they were available, the need for hospital admissions and institutional care would diminish, as, in turn, would the pressure on the Health Service. She says that as many as 18,000 patients could benefit from the latest generation of drugs to slow down dementia.

Ms Martin concludes that better access to modern medicines would, in itself, be a major step towards the goal of improving health services for older people, all of whom could benefit from more help to find their way around a multi–faceted health system.

For further information visit the Age Concern New Zealand website at: www.ageconcern.org.nz.

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