New Zealand First has released its plan to "Make NZ Healthy", promising to put prevention at the centre of healthcare if re-elected.
A policy document released on Sunday said the country had an "epidemic of chronic illness" that overwhelmed hospitals and put pressure on the economy.
"It's time for new thinking with a bold shift from treating illness to preventing it." the document said.
It includes a number of pledges; embedding good nutrition into the New Zealand Curriculum, focusing on metabolic health to prevent chronic illness, funding research into how nutrition can prevent or treat mental illness, funding a review of how vitamin D can maintain health and investing in hospital trials of how effective intravenous vitamin C pre- and post-surgery is for treating infection.
The full list of pledges:
- Focus on metabolic health as a driver of chronic illness
- Make sure written consent is a core part of healthcare
- Let patients make their own decisions about health
- Embed good nutrition in the New Zealand curriculum
- Launch an independent review of the country's dietary guidelines
- Reduce admin and "restore professional autonomy" for GPs
- Let health coaches support GPs in primary care
- Make sure nurses get fair compensation, better working conditions and access to mental health support
- Fund New Zealand scientists to assess nutritional interventions for preventing and treating mental illness
- Remove Medsafe and Pharmac barriers to "recognised safe nutrients"
- Invest in hospital trials to assess the effectiveness of intravenous vitamin C pre- and post-surgery for preventing and treating infections
- Fund a review of vitamin D and determine optimal levels for maintaining health
- Invest in agriculture to improve productivity, soil health, sustainability and resilience while researching practical alternatives to potentially harmful agricultural sprays
- Provide more support for organic food producers.
In a media release, a party spokesperson said other parties' solutions to health were more spending on medicines and treatment instead of funding prevention of the causes of illness.
"By supporting healthier lifestyles, early intervention and stronger communities, we can keep New Zealanders healthier, reduce pressure on hospitals, and build a more sustainable health system," the spokesperson said.
"Having adequate funding for medicines is an essential part of the health system but should not be the goal nor seen as the solution - it will only ever manage the decline of our country's health."
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