$2m in govt funding paid to Maori healers

Sal; I agree with everything you have said. The more choice the better. My only point is that there has to be some accountability and your choice shouldn't necessarily be my (or other tax payers) burden.

I must say if I lived life purely through logic, science and proof I would only feel like half a person and lead a pretty sheltered life. Old wives tales!!?? I imagine you might 'think' prozac is the logical cure for depression or take an antibiotic without even thinking twice. There is more to the human body than the brain. CHOICE is good.

For those of you who still think there is a case for funding the unproven touchy-feely alternatives take a look at today's media headlines. It appears that there are enough people in the community and Government who share our concerns about this alternative medicine or Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

http://www.stuff.co.nz/thepress/4826885a6009.html Quote: (ACC Minister Nick Smith) There were "legitimate questions" about the effectiveness of some alternative treatments, and the issue would be looked at as part of a broader ACC review,

Quote: (ACC Minister Nick Smith) "There's a contradiction, with the Ministry of Health saying they are not satisfied that they [Cam practitioners] are providing a real benefit for patients, while another arm of government is funding them."

Quote: Doctors say any treatment receiving government funding should be subject to the same rigorous standards as conventional medicine.

Quote: 'Christchurch GP Dr John Welch said the idea of integrating conventional and complementary medicine was a "fake proposition". "There can only be one sort of medicine that's shown to be effective and works and should be publicly funded," he said.

Quote: (Ministry of Health chief adviser on integrative care Dr David St George ) "There needs to be sufficient evidence of efficacy and effectiveness before a therapy can be considered for public funding," Quote: (Christchurch orthopaedic surgeon Graham Inglis) "We should be careful before the public sector starts purchasing too much more alternative medicine'. "We can hardly afford the straight up and down practice at the moment, let alone alternative medicine."

Jann; I would never, normally, insult or rubbish what I don???t understand and there is a lot in this world that we don???t understand and have yet to discover. But we are logical thinking (most of us) people with the power to evaluate and reason, and logic and reason tell us to put faith in that which is proven, scientifically. Bar a few political glitches and a bit of jiggery-pokery, we can have faith that modern medicine is science based. What you are suggesting is not. It is based on myth, misguided belief and wives tails. Health professionals have peoples lives in their hands and to suggest that believing in such practices as kawakawa poultice ???helping??? to cure lung cancer is damn dangerous. No one would deny that there are a few poor quality Doctors out there practicing conventional medicine but the system you are advocating is open to all sorts of abuses. Until we know all the answers I???ll put my faith in what is proven and if I have to consult a witch doctor it will be a sad act of desperation. But I will not be asking the public to fund my consultions.

Its stories like these that make me glad im an ex-pat . Nothing wrong with the concept except it should be self supporting . NZ has a struggling economy even before the global crisis . This is something NZ cant afford the main stream health system needs it most . The exodous of kiwis fleeing across the ditch is at a record level this sort of nonsense is one of the reasons . kiwi taxpayers have had a gutsfull its the straw to break the camels back for some .

It's sad to read so many negative comments from your readers. I wonder if any of these people have had a chronic illness and actually tried alternative medicines!

The fact that it is Maoritanga does not remove the accountability for the spending of tax payers money, although too often Maori seem to think that is the case. It is not just a big pot of free money that you people just dip into. The women of NZ had a massive fight on their hands to obtain access to Herceptin, and Pharmac is less than forward in providing funding for some well accepted therapies, so why should we be flittering away health funding on unproven bush medicine ?

More Maori on the gravy train ? Scientific research into traditional remedies is one thing but this is something totally different. If we are going to fund traditional Maori medicine we might as well fund the Catholic Church for faith healing sessions or give money to the Flat Earth Society. Proven ? Proven under what conditions. The article its self (if the information is reported accurately) states nothing is proven. Teresa Wall said "the practitioners and their health outcomes were not reviewed". She is also quoted as saying "The mere fact that people use rongoa and go back to the practitioners is testament that the services they are given are contributing to their wellbeing." The distribution of health funding is a complex issue, it is also evidence and results driven (or so I thought) But here we have neither. We appear to be funding a hocus pocus feel-good program with what evidence or accountability. You can understand the public being skeptical. I would be negative even if it didn't have a Maori connotation. I would suggest that in this day and age of fiscal responsibility these sorts of fringe practices and programs should be the first that we should scrutinize. They equate to some of the same people taking tax payer funded overseas trips to study hip-hop.

Question: Is Donna Awatere Huata keeping the books for the $1.9 m spent ?

You've got to be kidding. Where is the research that proves this sort of "therapy" is beneficial? What studies have been done?

hahaha good call bout the cricket team!

Maybe we should take 30% of the entire health budget and invest it into our sports teams (and not rugby - they have plenty of funding!!) and into the arts. Then we may not live forever but it would be a lot more entertaining!!