Frances Soutter: Cure Kids CEO on the new report showing the high hospitalisation rates for preventable diseases

A dismal picture is being painted of our tamariki's health, with more being hospitalised for preventable diseases.  

A new Cure Kids report reveals unacceptably high hospitalisation rates for respiratory, skin and rheumatic conditions, mental health issues, and dental diseases. 

It finds Māori and Pasifika children and those from lower income households are disproportionately affected. 

Chief executive Frances Soutter says we need to address social factors like child poverty and create more equitable access to health and nutrition.  

She says we need intentional collaborative action to shift these statistics.   

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We have another look this morning at the state of
our kid's health. This is the Cure Kids Annual Child
Healthcare in New Zealand report. Hospitalizations are up, inequities are growing.
Are the CEO is Francisuda, who is with US France
this morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Let me ask you, Enna, let me ask you the
controversial question. Take Maria and Pacific Islanders out of it.
What's the state of New Zealand kids health.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
It's still challenging. We still have sixty thousand kids a
year being admitted to hospital for completely preventable illness. As yes,
Maria and Pacific contribute a lot to that number, but
we're talking about children who are facing inequity. The material
of race.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Okay, So when I look at the it's the usual stuff, respiratory, rheumatic, heart,
all of that. It's this crappy damp housing people on
benefits in certain socioeconomic areas that are the issue. Is
that fair or not?

Speaker 2 (00:57):
No? That is fair, you know, And what we need
is national actions to reduce tild poverty with deliverable you know,
delivering equityble access to all of those things that you mentioned,
healthy and nutrition and appropriate housing. These are the most
important ways to positively impact the health and reduce the
risk factors across these five areas of health.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Here's my concern, I love them or not. The labor
government of the last three probably six years through an
astonishing amount of money at people in trouble. It didn't help, clearly,
did it, if your reports accurate.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Look, the thing is what we need is a national,
a New Zealand approach to these things.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
And you know.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
It means it doesn't matter what government's in. We've got
to look to the future of our tamariki and say
what do they need? Irrespective award, what.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
They needed was, according to the last government, more money,
and so they got lots more money and it didn't
buy our way out of it. I just can't see.
But all I mean, I'm not attacking you, France. It's
all I'm saying is this problem is not new. We've
had different, different approaches to it. It doesn't seem to
be getting any better. And all we can come up
with now is, oh, we need a sort of a
holistic comeboy, our whole hands and we might fix the

(02:08):
problem kind of solutions.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
Look, I think what we really need is a targeted
investment into the health of children which will generate long
term population health benefits. So, you know, one of the
one of the things that I love about this report
is that you know, it answers some of the big
research questions and if the questions aren't answered, then where
then the research will help us develop an evidence based

(02:34):
approach to solving these problems for children. I mean, YOKID
has tapped into some incredible researchers, you know, the brains
trusts of pediatric care, and it's a collaboration with that
group of people who understand and who know where the
health problems lie. But also taking it taking a leaf
out of lessons from the past. We saw how slow

(02:58):
our COVID immunization program was. You know, it took a
long time for some of those most at risk communities
to pick it up. And it wasn't till we took
a culturally appropriate community based program of immunization that we
really moved the dial on getting everybody immunised for COVID.
That's the approach that we need to take with childhood

(03:19):
immunization generally, and just you know, achieving those targets, reducing
the barriers, like increasing pharmacy providers those community based based solution.
Now we learned a lot from that co exact thing
roll out, so you know, so let's you know, let's
let if we want to make a real change, even

(03:39):
next winter, we need to be providing this immunization to
all children age five and under.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
All right, well, I look forward to the time when
you write a report, Francis, and you can come on
and tell us that things are improving. Appreciate your times always,
France as suitor cured Kids. For more from the Mic
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