16 August 2022
A leading article published by Radio New Zealand today, Tuesday, titled with the above heading went on to quote a leading figure in New Zealand, Lady Turtti Moxon, as saying, “One of the issues with Māori health in the country was that people were dying prematurely from preventable diseases because they were not being given the diagnostic tests they needed.”
She said people needed to be put at the centre of health care in New Zealand.
Lady Turetti hoped the Māori Health Authority would focus on prevention rather than cure.
What Lady Moxon said about people needing to be put at the centre of health care in New Zealand and the focus put on prevention rather than cure, struck home with me because much of what I have written to the Solomon Islands media, and posted on Facebook and on Linkedin for several years already as been precisely focused on preventative measures to prevent the onset of NCD diseases, and the introduction of regular screening programmes for early signs of breast cancer, hypertension (blood pressure) and ovarian cancer
I am not a doctor but I care and try to rely on aauthority internationally published medical breakthrough’s on disease prevention, treatment and practical advice for better health interventions, which I share in the hope such information can be beneficial to the MHMS,
One such notice I shared last week (on 13 August) in the hope it could be of benefit to the MHMS dealing with screening for ovarian cancer has been removed without consent or explanation from the Solomon Times Facebook page and from Linkedin.
It is clear to me that much more needs to be done by the MHMS by giving advice on preventative measures, including effective screening, but when the NRH is still without a basic mammogram machine for breast cancer screening and perhaps reliant on an outside donor for one, then to me preventive measures are lacking in our health care system and such measures need to be re-set as a priority.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
