All Episodes

October 13, 2024 • 2 mins

We're all living much longer, aren't we? At what cost? That's my question for you this morning.

A report out over the weekend found human life expectancy has just about peaked globally.

It's lights out. Goodbye.  

New Zealand men, you'll make 80, women, you'll make 83, which is great, longer life. Everyone wants one right now.

We're told that we also have a health system in crisis.

People waiting in waiting rooms, they can't afford to see a GP. Over the weekend, I read about a family man, a carpenter from Westport who was sent home, hours later he was dead.

In Rotorua a month ago, remember a man died in the waiting room at the emergency department while waiting.

So we don't have enough resources for health or we're not optimising the resources that we do have to meet the needs and we're being overwhelmed by them.

.css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're all living much longer, aren't we? At what cost?
That's my question for you this morning. At what cost?
A report out at the weekend, human life expectancy has
just about peaked, They reckon globally it's lights out, goodbye.
On average for women between eighty seven and ninety, men
you'll make eighty four. In New Zealand, men you'll make eighty.

(00:21):
Women you'll make eighty three, which is great, longer life.
Every one wants one. Right now, we're told that we
also have a health system in crisis, people waiting in
waiting rooms, they can't afford to see a GP. Over
the weekend, they read about a family of a man,
a family man carpenter from Westport, sent home hours later
dead and lots of dil or. A month ago. Remember

(00:43):
that man died in the waiting room, the emergency department
waiting waiting. So we don't have enough resources for health
or we're not optimizing the resources that we do have
to meet the needs, and we're being overwhelmed by them.
And we have a huge aging population. The number of
people sixty five and over, which was around seven hundred

(01:06):
thousand a few years back, that will quadruple by mid
twenty four quadruple the number of people ninety and over
thirty one thousand. That will quadruple in twenty years, So
we'll have one hundred and twenty five hundred and thirty
thousand ninety plus year olds in New Zealand. Now, if
you're a doctor, you've got two people, both as sick

(01:28):
as each other. One's forty, one's ninety one might die
if you treat the other first. What do you do?
Serious question? I mean to me, The obvious answer is, well,
one person has had ninety years on this planet. You
know you treat the young one first, don't you? Because
the older ones had more life to live. Am I

(01:51):
saying let's stop treating patients based on need and discriminate
against the elderly. No, because I love my great mother,
you know what I mean. We have to do it
on who's sick, us, who's closer to death, all that
sort of stuff. But I am curious for those who
work in healthcare, is there a touch of bias on

(02:12):
who you might treat first. I know you've got the
hippocratic oath, etc. But if you if you're presented with
a situation like that, how do you respond to it
for more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live
to news talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.