New Zealand has had a number of restrictive lockdowns in an attempt to reduce the transmission of Covid19, and each time these occur, our Allied Health services are shut down.
Auckland’s current lockdown has meant that the public have been unable to seek the support and services of Allied Health Professionals for 8 weeks, and with the “roadmap” released on 4th October 2021, it is anyone’s guess when we will again be able to receive the very real benefit of these services.
 
Under the current “roadmap” it looks like retail stores may be able to open to the public before Allied Health services. This makes no sense.
 
How can it be safer to shop inside in a mall, sharing space and ventilation with complete strangers who may not have used the Covid19 tracer app, than it is to see a trained health professional for a pre-booked appointment in a contained patient - clinician setting?
How can the benefits of retail therapy be greater than the benefits of looking after one’s mental and physical health?
 
What is an Allied Health Professional, and what do they do?
 
Allied Health Professionals include such professions as Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, Podiatry, Counsellors, Psychologists, Naturopaths, Acupuncturists, Manual Therapist etc.
 
Hospitals bring us into the world, aid our passage on when our time is up, and endeavor to save us from passing before it is our time.
 
While we are on this earth, Allied Health Professionals helps us gain, restore and maintain our quality of life.
It is not a life worth living if we are in physical or emotional pain. Easing our pain, helping us make a recovery, and then maintaining those gains is the realm of Allied Health. And it is this holistic approach to health that allows us to live full, happy and productive lives.
 
The work done by Allied Health Professionals also helps to keep us out of hospitals, and helps to keep us in the workforce, so while their primary aim to is to look after people, they indirectly support our economy.
 
These individuals are highly trained, understand the need for infection control, and because they care about people, will follow all guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid19.
 
The government will say that these professions can operate remotely via zoom meetings during out lockdowns. This doesn’t cut it, Allied Health benefits are achieved through things such as manual techniques if operating in the physical health realm, or the safe space created by in person sessions if operating in the mental health realm.
 
Health is not solely about whether you have Covid-19 or not, it is a multifaceted and complex piece, and if it is not addressed in a holistic manner, it is lost. To this end, Allied Health Professionals should be part of the essential workforce, keeping us, and the economy moving through this Pandemic.
 
We submit this petition to the government of New Zealand, asking that Allied Health Professions are included in the essential workforce, able to operate at all alert levels, providing the very essential service that so many New Zealanders need.