Take action

If you would like to write to the Minister for Health or your local MP about this issue, please feel free to use the suggested text below, and edit or personalise.

You can find the email and contact details for the Minister of Health here and for your local MPs here (remember you can write to your general electorate and list MP).

Suggested letter/email wording:

Dear [Minister for Health/[name] MP],

This Hospice Awareness Week Otago Community Hospice are asking the community 
for support because things are grim. The cost of running hospice services across 
the motu have increased massively in recent years, but Government funding has not 
adjusted for rising costs,leaving many hospices struggling to cover the cost of 
their service.

As I am sure you will be aware, the total expenditure across the nation’s publicly 
contracted hospices will exceed the total revenues from government and community 
sources in less than 12 months. This shortfall is projected to reach $196m by 2045 
as costs continue to increase and New Zealand’s population grows and ages. To meet 
the urgent shortfall of today, and remain sustainable into the future, hospices 
across NZ are asking the Government to rethink how they fund hospice services. 
The case is strong.

Hospices save the health system a staggering $110m every year and deliver a 
conservative return on investment of $1.59 for every $1 of government funding. They 
also generate $48m in quality of life improvements, $2.6m in well-being benefits 
and $468k in out-of-pocket cost savings for families.

If the Government's funding model stays the same, hospices will fail to meet the 
growing demand without making drastic changes to what and how they deliver their 
services.

I would encourage you to engage with Hospice NZ and local hospices on finding a 
solution to a sustainable funding model for these vital services.

Yours Sincerely,

[name]