One of the most effective ways to share your concerns is to write to your MP or local electoral candidates.
Tips
- Keep your letter or email short – maximum 250 words.
- Use the example below to help you.
- Always use a heading. For example, “We need urgent action to address …”
- Make your most important point in the very first sentence.
- Then use the next two or three paragraphs to state the issues and what the Government needs to do to address these.
- Include some of these facts about palliative care in Aotearoa New Zealand.
- Make it personal – can you relate it to your own palliative care/hospice experience with family / whānau
- Ask them to respond to you.
- If you are writing a letter to your MP, remember you don’t need a stamp to post it.
For Example:
<Your address>
<Date>
Dear/Tēnā koe <Name of MP or candidate>
We need the government to urgently address their investment in hospice and palliative care.
I am writing because I am very concerned about the future of hospices and palliative care in New Zealand.
Our society is ageing. It is predicted the number of people needing palliative care will increase by over 50% in the next 20 years.
I/We are worried that as an essential health service, hospice has been under-recognised and under-valued by successive governments and now faces an uncertain future through lack of funding.
Hospices need better funding so everyone who needs it can access quality palliative care.
Nurses in hospices are still being paid considerably less than equally qualified and experienced staff in Te Whatu Ora services. The risk of losing staff to hospitals for better pay means hospice services may be cut. The survival of hospices is not guaranteed, which would place more pressure on hospitals and primary care.
Then add some facts, such as
Last year hospice provided;
- Care to 17,589 people, plus their whānau.
- Care for 10,592 people who died.
- 166,541 face to face visits and consultations.
- Last year, it cost over $186 million to provide free hospice care across New Zealand. While the Government provided $92.1 million, hospices had to raise over $94 million from their communities to bridge the gap.
Write something more personal – about how palliative care/hospice affects you and your experience >
Then finish with something like>
- Can you please tell me what you and your Party will do to ensure hospice care will be here to meet my community’s need for equitable and accessible palliative care across Aotearoa New Zealand?
<Pick one of these closing remarks>
Nāku, nā – Yours faithfully
Nāku iti noa, nā – Yours sincerely
