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The Aged Care Commissioner is urging decision-makers to consider the unintended consequences of changes to the funding model for aged care.
Health New Zealand is developing a new funding model which is hoped would address shortfalls in provincial towns like Wairoa, where the only rest home in town has been closed since Cyclone Gabrielle.
Aged Care Commissioner Carolyn Cooper told Nine to Noon changes to the system were necessary.
Aged Care Commissioner Carolyn Cooper. Photo: Supplied
"In Wairoa ... it was very clear to me that the access to healthcare services for older people was challenging, including access to equipment, so there has to be some work done," she said.
"We had been trying to work with a family member whose kaumatua needs a walker ... they can't get down the steps so they need a ramp, there's a lot to go through to get a ramp. You'd think its a fairly straightforward thing, but let me tell you ... Our team tried to assist this person and even for us it was very difficult to do."
Aged Care Commissioner concern over elder care in provinces
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But she urged caution, warning the new model could bring unintended consequences.
"I would really like the funders to consider the unintended consequences, and they've got the perfect example now ... they've got districts that don't have that level of funding and they've got districts that do," she said.
"I would really like them to [compare] the rates of admissions in those areas, the falls, the unintended consequences for the people who don't receive those services, who are struggling to put their washing out and breaking their hip if they fall."
Associate Minister of Health Casey Costello had previously promised the new model would not negatively impact care, but Cooper was doubtful.
"I do not believe there's been a fulsome measure of the impact for elder people, and I'm keen for that to be considered before any future model of care looks at a potential change," Cooper said.
"It's very scary for older people and there will be people thinking 'what is going to happen to me?' I think we need to be really clear with our communities what they need and what is going to be available to them, and what they'll need to pay for themselves."