Member feedback guides strategic planning

Upcoming events of interest

The Cancer Control Agency has just released two significant reports highlighting the experiences of disabled people with cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand: Disabled People and Cancer: Literature Review Ngā Tāngata Whaikaha me te mate pukupuku: he arotakenga mātātuhi The Burden of Cancer Among Disabled People: Diagnosis Insights He taumaha te mate pukupuku ki ngā tāngata whaikaha: Ngā Kitenga. Both reports are now available in a range of formats on the Agency’s website . Together these reports provide important new evidence to inform and improve cancer care for disabled people and their whānau. The literature review summarises international and local research, highlighting barriers disabled people face in accessing cancer care and pinpointing areas where more research is needed. The diagnosis insights report analyses cancer rates among disabled adults in New Zealand (2018–2022). It shows higher diagnosis rates for disabled people across all demographics analysed when compared to the total population. Diagnosis rates were also analysed for four specific cancers (breast, bowel, lung and prostate cancer). There are significantly higher rates for lung cancer among disabled people, and higher rates for breast and bowel cancer as well. With 17 per cent of people in New Zealand identified as disabled, these reports are another key tool in addressing inequities and informing better cancer care for all.

As some members will know, we have farewelled our previous Executive Administrator, Nikky Winchester, and welcome as her successor, Pauline Downie. On behalf of all our members, we want to thank Nikky for her long-serving contribution to AHANZ and wish her well for the future. Pauline is contactable at admin@alliedhealth.org.nz .

The Government has been promoting its updated set of health targets - faster ED wait times, quicker cancer treatment, shorter GP appointments, improved ambulance response times. “There targets matter, of course,” AHANZ Co-Chair Robin Kerr says. “But they’re all measures of what happens once people are already unwell enough to need hospitals, EDs or urgent primary care. They tell us nothing about how we stop people reaching that point in the first place.” Robin says the continued emphasis on acute and secondary care is a missed opportunity, and one on which AHANZ is focusing its advocacy strategy. The Hidden in Plain Sight report and our recent advocacy papers make it clear the country can’t fix hospital pressure without strengthening community-based prevention, early intervention, and rehabilitation. Robin says AHANZ wants to see a shift toward “targets that measure wellness, not just illness.” “We’re not saying the current targets are wrong,” Robin says. “We’re saying they’re incomplete - if they only measure hospital-level performance, the system will only invest in hospital-level solutions.” With the election approaching, Robin says AHANZ is also watching closely for the Labour Party’s yet-to-be-released health policy. “Our message to Labour is simple: make allied health visible. Build us into your prevention strategy, your workforce planning, your community care models, your data systems. We are ready to be part of the solution, but you have to put us in the frame.” As advocacy ramps up, AHANZ’s position is clear: if New Zealand wants fewer people turning up at ED, it needs to invest in the people who prevent those visits in the first place. “The system needs what allied health can offer.”

As the election clock ticks down, Allied Health Aotearoa New Zealand is putting the needs, expertise, and potential of the allied health workforce squarely in front of our political decision-makers. AHANZ has developed a suite of four focused policy papers that together set out a simple message: allied health is essential to delivering a strong, equitable, community-based health system — and the next Government must enable that. Those policy papers - on joined-up community care, prevention, visibility, and reaching everyone, everywhere – are the backbone of AHANZ’s election advocacy. They now form the basis of a manifesto document that AHANZ will send to all the Parties, urging them to include our recommendations into their own health policies. AHANZ Executive Committee member, Alison Molloy, says the papers and the manifesto reflect what members have been telling AHANZ. “We have the workforce, the capability, and the evidence. What we’ve lacked is appropriate system design. These papers make that case clearly and powerfully.” 1. Joined-up, community-based care spells out how the allied health workforce can relieve pressure on GPs and hospitals, and why Tier 1 care must be team-based and locally delivered. 2. Prevention first highlights that preventable conditions are driving unsustainable demand. Allied health can address that, but people can’t access services that are unfunded and unaffordable. 3. Better information and visibility is AHANZ calling for proper reporting, shared digital systems, and visibility in workforce planning. 4. Reaching everyone, everywhere reinforces equity as the defining challenge. Alison puts it simply: “We understand this Government is mostly focused on health targets as they relate to hospitals and EDs. But we still need to advocate strongly for allied health and the role we can play, and the value we bring." We want to use every possible opportunity to push for a future where allied health is finally recognised as the engine room of a modern, accessible, prevention-centred health system.