ONE NEWS: United Future has unveiled it's election year health policy and believes better incentives are needed to keep healthcare workers in New Zealand.
The party says fees for medicine and nursing courses need to be cut and bonding schemes introduced in fields where there are severe staffing shortages.
It's also proposing to attract foreign health workers to New Zealand by setting up a working holiday programme.
United Future's policy also proposes using the private sector to reduce public waiting lists.
"We have long waiting lists for elective surgery, but there is spare capacity in the private health system," says Judy Turner United Future deputy leader.
Turner says there are glaring deficiencies in the New Zealand health system that need urgent fixing up.
She says the cost of healthcare continues to rise at twice the rate of inflation, but the country has a growing ageing population with greater health needs and a declining number of taxpayers.
Turner also says we pay for primary healthcare but subsidise, or make secondary care free - the only OECD nation to do so.
"This is plain nuts," she says.
"Our health policy is based on the principles that prevention is better than cure and people have to take individual responsibility for their healthcare."
Turner says it is difficult to overstate the flood of problems that confront the New Zealand health sector.
She cites obesity and diabetic epidemics the full force of which are yet to hit home.
"Thirty percent of deaths are diet related. Six percent die from lack of fruit and vegetables - three times the road toll."
Alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse are significant contributors to poor health outcomes in New Zealand which also has high incidence of sexually transmitted infections, she says.
The need for an effective, efficient healthcare system is as great, if not greater, than it has ever been, she says.
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