New Zealand First has released its plan to “Make NZ Healthy”, promising to put prevention at the centre of healthcare if re-elected.
A policy document released on Sunday said the country had an “epidemic of chronic illness” that overwhelmed hospitals and put pressure on the economy.
“It’s time for new thinking with a bold shift from treating illness to preventing it,” the document said.
It includes a number of pledges; embedding good nutrition into the New Zealand Curriculum, focusing on metabolic health to prevent chronic illness, funding research into how nutrition can prevent or treat mental illness, funding a review of how vitamin D can maintain health and investing in hospital trials of how effective intravenous vitamin C pre- and post-surgery is for treating infection.
The full list of pledges:
In a media release, a party spokesperson said other parties’ solutions to health were more spending on medicines and treatment instead of funding prevention of the causes of illness.
“By supporting healthier lifestyles, early intervention and stronger communities, we can keep New Zealanders healthier, reduce pressure on hospitals, and build a more sustainable health system.
“Having adequate funding for medicines is an essential part of the health system but should not be the goal nor seen as the solution – it will only ever manage the decline of our country’s health,” the spokesperson said.