Another postcard from the Brighter Future

Written By: - Date published: 2:42 pm, November 11th, 2016 - 13 comments
Categories: health, quality of life - Tags: , , ,

In the midst of the cataclysmic big stories, we should not lose sight of the small:

Hospital cuts off 96-year-old woman, leaving her to fend for herself

A 96-year-old woman is terrified at the thought of being left to fend for herself when her home support is cut.

Trixie Cottingham has lived in the same house, just outside Levin, for 68 years, but her future there is now under threat due to a policy change by her carers.

Cottingham has lived alone for 31 years since her husband died, and for the past two to three years has relied on a cleaning service provided by MidCentral District Health Board.

But, at the start of the month, she received a letter telling her she would be cut off.
…
About 1000 people were affected by the change, which the DHB began telling people about in August 2015.

[Manager] Johnston said a number of appeals had been carried out.

A symptom of National’s health funding cuts.

13 comments on “Another postcard from the Brighter Future ”

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  1. aerobubble 1
    11 November 2016 at 2:56 pm

    Legalization means druggies aren’t buying the hard drugs, so those drugs get redirrected to countries that have not decriminalized. A boat runs aground fifty mile beach loaded to the rafters with drugs. Key still pushing TPP. Sure details matter, poor older NZ suffering from cuts, but the malaise of poor misdirected govt is palpable.

  2. tc 2
    11 November 2016 at 2:57 pm

    Health system is crumbling under the ryall initiated slash n burn that coleman carries on with…..plenty of emotive stories out there like this to feed that meme.

    Even the specialists inside DHB’s are openly bitching as they are severly constrained now unless you are on deaths door and they also get pressure to play the numbers game by agressive nat installed management.

  3. McFlock 3
    11 November 2016 at 3:17 pm

    Apparently the nats did a pre-us-election docdump: fight clubs rumoured to be in several prisons across the system, who knows what else…

    Oh, and broken equipment in southern DHB led to diagnostic delay that killed someone.

  4. Mr Nobody 4
    11 November 2016 at 3:57 pm

    I hadn’t seen that McFlock, do you know which prisons they were occurring at?

    • McFlock 4.1
      11 November 2016 at 6:24 pm

      nah it was only a quick thing on the late night news a day or two back, but at least two other prisons were mentioned

  5. beatie 5
    11 November 2016 at 4:26 pm

    Here’s another. Winz now require all those on the Supported Living allowance (former Invalids benefit) to be medically assessed for work capability every 2 years. Until recently it was 2yrs, 5yrs or never. My rheumatologist signed me off as never to be re-assessed 2 yrs ago but I just had to provide another one. When I asked for an explanation I was told (threatened) that they would need to look at my earnings from a part-time job (8hrs per week) that I had 4 years ago. Mongrels!

  6. esoteric pineapples 6
    11 November 2016 at 4:51 pm

    Ironically, it will cost the government more if she has to move into a rest home

    • Rosemary McDonald 6.1
      11 November 2016 at 6:20 pm

      Not if she owns her home it wont. They’ll take the better part of her house to pay for her care.

      If she is renting and has little in the way of other assets…then they are more likely to facilitate her staying out of residential care…it will be cheaper for the Govt. to support her at home….to a certain level.

      You’d think once you’ve got to 90…you’d have earned a bit of respect.

      • The Chairman 6.1.1
        11 November 2016 at 6:41 pm

        As she resides in Levin, there’s a good chance her house would fall under the asset threshold for subsidised rest home care.

        Or ownership could be held in a family trust.

  8. Richard Rawshark 8
    11 November 2016 at 9:52 pm

    Just pulled nana out of one Auckland dementia unit into another, first report, they have been medicating her for diabetes, they are saying she doesn’t have it.

    They are reducing her sedatives now as they were sedating her so they didn’t have to deal with her. The new Dr’s said the sedative doses on her records are, mm rather high.

    WOW, I don’t know what to say, but i’m pretty angry right now. We just heard tonight.

  9. Richard Rawshark 9
    11 November 2016 at 9:54 pm

    So what I am saying including my own mental health treatment which got cut off 4 years ago is..,m National take it up the arse.

  10. Richard Rawshark 10
    11 November 2016 at 9:55 pm

    My nans older than her too. AT least though she has a unit to live in.. national, sack these facists.