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Hospices are at Tipping Point - Why don't MPs care?

"Dead people don't vote, of course. But maybe politicians have forgotten that their families do"

Read the Editorial in the Sunday Star Times highlighting the stark truth that our hospice sector is in crisis.

Struggling hospice nurses shattered by pay equity changes

This year’s Hospice Awareness Week comes as hospices struggle to keep their doors open because of a lack of Government funding and nurses’ chances of fair pay shattered by the removal of their pay equity claim, NZNO says.
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) hospice pay equity claim was filed in late-2023 covering 27 hospices employing its members. That claim, alongside nine others for NZNO, were thrown out by the Government last week with its to pay equity law changes.

Dying NZers & Their Families Will Fund The Shortfall Between Pay For A Nurse In A Hospital & A Nurse In A Hospice

The latest pay equity legislation is a giant set back for Hospice nurses.

“To fund the widening pay gap is simply beyond the ability of hospices to do,” says Wayne Naylor. “Some have paid their nurses more than they can afford just to keep their nurses and keep providing care. Some can’t even do that and are looking to cut back services.

Read here why dying New Zealanders and their families will fund the shortfall between pay for a nurse in a hospital and a nurse in a hospice.

Lack of funding for hospice care

Listen to RNZ The Panel where host Wallace Chapman is joined by panelists Paula Penfold & Phil O'Reilly. The three of them discuss: a lack of funding for hospice care. 

Paula Penfold is an investigative journalist at stuff
Phil O'Reilly is a global business leader

The Panel with Paula Penfold & Phil O'Reilly (Part 1) | RNZ

Hospice Awareness Week 2025

This Hospice Awareness Week our message has never been clearer. If the Government doesn’t act now to invest fairly in hospice care, it is the terminally ill in need of Hospice care and their loved ones who will pay the price.

“Hospices are already facing major disruption and reducing offerings and without more funding, we risk losing these vital services when people need them most,” says Mr Naylor.

Read more about the call for fairer funding here.

Humans of Hospice - Meet Marleen and Genevieve

We caught up with Marleen and Genevieve, who work together at hospice. Their warm demeanour immediately puts you at ease, making you feel like you've known them for years. They are kind, welcoming, and full of humour. The relationship between them is truly special — there’s a deep respect and admiration they share for one another, as well as the way they work together to ensure they provide the best care possible for people in their community. Here’s their story…

An Evening with Kathryn Mannix

The stunning Legislative Chamber at Parliament was packed on the evening of 11 March as an audience of the public, palliative care professionals, Ministers and MPs came together to listen to Dr Kathryn Mannix talk about dying.

Hospices under significant cost pressure – A Landmark Report shows the real value of hospices to health system

Through providing free, end-of-life care to thousands of New Zealanders every year, local hospices are providing taxpayers at least $1.59 in health benefits for every dollar of government funding, a landmark report released today has found.   

However, the study, Sustainable Funding for Hospice Services, by leading public sector and economic specialists Martin Jenkins, highlighted that while New Zealand’s 28 publicly funded hospices relieve pressure on the national health system, particularly through fewer hospital admissions and Emergency Department visits, they were operating under unprecedented financial strain.

Tina McCafferty, Chief Executive of Tōtara Hospice and part of a hospice collective that commissioned the Report, said that the sector faced escalating costs as it dealt with an increasingly ageing population and patients requiring more complex palliative care.

Tipping Point for Hospice Funding

Listen to Hospice CEO Wayne Naylor and Tōtara Hospice CEO Tina McCafferty talk on Nine to Noon .

They discuss why urgent action is needed now to prevent reduction in hospice services and even closures - based on a new report on sustainable funding for hospice services undertaken by the consultancy firm Martin Jenkins. 

They call for immediate government investment to support a national funding model to sustain the sector now and for the future.

"The number of people who die in NZ will be about 50,000 in 20 years time. 90% of those will benefit from palliative care.

If we are going to meet this future demand just doing what we do now - not expanding our services to other people who would benefit - that's an enormous increase.  The tipping point is now. We've known that for quite some time and our government has not responded" 

Tipping Point for Hospice Funding on RNZ Nine to Noon

Axing National Palliative Care Roles A Backward Step

There is no escaping the fact that 100% of us are going to die, and when it inevitably happens, we all deserve to die well.  Health NZ has just two people working on a national strategy to address this fundamental healthcare right.  Now their jobs are proposed to be cut. 

Read this Sunday Star Times Opinion Piece by Wayne Naylor about how disastrous this proposal will be for dying people in Aotearoa.