According to the NZ Herald,"Maori are more likely to suffer inadequate health care than Pakeha and other ethnic groups, a new study suggests......The study's authors say it suggests Maori were more likely to receive "sub-optimum care" in hospitals, but they were unable to explain the reasons."
So much for all the years of cultural safety and Treaty of Waitangi training. I am persuaded by observers who have put the discrepancy down to communication difficulties. Those dificulties are compounded by many medical staff not having english as their first language.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Perhaps the number of un-cooperative and abusive Maori patients may have something to do the results.
I have a very close friend who works as an RN in a busy A&E department and she has been spat at, called a "white (insert fould word of choice, racist and so on, again and again.
Something that very rarely happened when she worked with Aborigines and she's the least racist person I could imagine.
I'd suggest that Maori are more often than not the authors of their own misfortunes.
"foul" word of choice, that is. pimf.
The statistics may suggest a bias against low classes.
"The study also notes that Maori suffer "substantial disadvantages" in health status compared with New Zealand's majority Pakeha population.
"For example, Maori life expectancy at birth is about 8.5 years lower than for non-Maori."
In the report Maori low life expectancy is not attributed to the rates of teenage pregnancy or child abuse rates, their education or prevalance in drug statistics. No, it is the health systems failure!
Gloria
Gloria, another report was also cited yesterday but I can no longer find a link to it. The author was saying, something is going on when Maori in their late twenties are dying at double the rate of non-Maori. Double the rate sounds dramatic. What it represents is roughly 20 deaths per 100,000 compared to ten. The major reasons for deaths in that age group are accidents, poisoning and violence. The reasons, then, are more to do with lifestyle than hospital care.
Post a Comment