Louisa Wall for The Post: “Prevention does not happen in a policy document.”
Kaitiaki Hauora executive member and spokesperson Louisa Wall has written in The Post today about the current political enthusiasm for prevention in healthcare, and the much harder question underneath it.
What does prevention actually mean when people don’t have equal access to the things that keep us well?
Eat well. Exercise. Manage your stress. Make healthy choices.
Fine. But what does “manage your stress” mean when there’s no money and the power is about to be cut off? What does “eat well” mean when the weekly food budget barely stretches? And how do you prevent illness through early intervention when you can’t afford to see a GP?
Louisa says prevention absolutely matters, but it cannot be separated from poverty, housing, food, access to healthcare, equity, Te Tiriti, workforce capacity and proper investment in our public health system.
And prevention cannot become another way of shifting responsibility for health from the state onto individuals.
“Public money should strengthen public healthcare.”
Right? It seems so simple, and that’s because it is.
Fund public healthcare properly
Honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi
Keep healthcare public
Prevention is better than cure. But only if we’re serious about creating the conditions that allow people to stay well in the first place.
