<strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> Thursday <strong>July</strong> <strong>15</strong> <strong>2021</strong> 32 Don’t let pain keep you down Book a physio and get back to the things you love this winter. Winter is a time of year that invites us to slow down to rest and renew. For some, it means getting out to our favourite winter sports such as snowboarding or skiing! However you choose to spend these shorter, cooler days, it’s essential to keep your body moving. For those who experience physical pain, that is easier said than done. Heat plays a crucial part in helping muscles and joints relax, so it’s no surprise that the cold weather can make pain feel worse, making it harder to stay active. Depending on what causes your pain, there are some things you can do to help manage it during winter. Aaron Searle, clinical lead at Habit Health recommends the following: • Spend a little extra time warming up before exercise. • Get seven to eight hours of restful sleep each night. • Eat plenty of nutrient-rich foods. • Drink plenty of water, so you stay hydrated to help protect your joints and muscles. If the pain you’re experiencing is a little more complicated than just cold weather, a physiotherapist could help. Physiotherapists are trained health professionals who help address and treat the pain that negatively impacts your daily life. <strong>The</strong>y provide you with the tools to help manage your pain so you can get back to the things you love doing. Habit Health has highly skilled physiotherapists trained in musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries and other problems causing pain. As no two patients are the same, the Habit Health team will assess your injury, your body, and your experience holistically to ensure the treatment plan they provide is right for your unique needs. <strong>The</strong> physio may also recommend and refer you to another specialist who can support you on your pain management journey. Ultimately, your body is meant to move, so don’t let pain get you down this winter. Book a physio and get back to the things you love. From the very bottom to the tippy-top, there’s a Habit Health clinic near you. Look out for our local names, like Habit Rehab and Southern Rehab. Locations near you Habit Health Forté Level 1, Forté 2 132 Peterborough Street Habit Health Byron Street 29 Byron Street Sydenham Habit Health Travis Road Find more locations www.habit.health Travis Medical Centre 225 Travis Rd North New Brighton Habit Health Rolleston Rolleston Central Health 9 Masefield Drive, Rolleston 0800 800 288 Government to repay elderly in long-term residential care • By Anne Gibson ELDERLY PEOPLE in long-term aged residential care can claim $20 million in state money over the next two years for wrongful assessment and deprivation of financial support. Budget <strong>2021</strong> allocated the money after the state admitted it wrongfully interpreted the law following accountant Stephen Broadbent’s 2019 Court of Appeal victory for his mother in long-term care. <strong>The</strong> money has now been allocated to cover back payments to aged people who should have received that residential care subsidy – but did not because of ministry mistakes, only clarified by the court ruling. On its website, the Ministry of Social Development says it “will repay those who paid too much for their residential care. Government has provided $20m over two years to enable the Ministry of Social Development to correct clients’ financial means assessments for residential care”. Financial means assessments are conducted on people applying for a state subsidy to work out who pays for their long-term residential care: Rich pay the whole fee, the poor get the full state subsidy. <strong>The</strong> fees can start at about $1200 a week, but go higher. <strong>The</strong> Ministry of Health pays those fees to health providers via district health boards. People are needs-assessed based on their assets: If you have $236,336 or more you might need to pay the full care yourself. That $236,336 threshold is all assets, including the family home, cars, cash, KiwiSaver, baches, boats and other assets. But if your partner still lives in the family home, that is excluded from the asset test threshold. <strong>The</strong> Ministry of Health says: “<strong>The</strong> effect is that if a resident owns assets above the threshold and is in rest home care, they pay the full cost.” Care or health providers are mainly the big retirement village owner/ operators which have hospitals for geriatric care, religious orders, charities or other entities, which run rest home or dementia care facilities. In May 2019, the Court of Appeal found that MSD’s approach to undertaking financial means assessment for the residential care subsidy were not consistent with the legislation. “This related to the process for identifying and assessing deprivation of assets and income. MSD has updated the financial means assessment process and has been using it since December 2019 for new clients and current clients to ensure that they are paying the right amount now,” it says now. <strong>The</strong> ministry allocated $5 million for the 2020/<strong>2021</strong> period and $<strong>15</strong> million for <strong>2021</strong>/2022. “Funding covers repayments to clients and/or their estates for residential care subsidy underpayments following a 2019 Court of Appeal decision. “This funding will be used to refund clients or their estates if they paid too much for their care in the past. “MSD will monitor the levels of uptake by clients or their estates requesting a review of their financial means assessment, the number of reviews that are completed, the amount of money that has been paid out in refunds and whether any debts have been created,” it said. Broadbent reacted to the ministry’s latest announcement on the $20 million. “<strong>The</strong> ministry admits that my contentions were absolutely correct and its argument was absolute rubbish right from the start,” he said. “<strong>The</strong>y asked the Government to allocate $20m in this year’s Budget to cover the back payments, proposed to be in the health budget labelled ‘other expenses’ which people probably assumed were something to do with the Covid billions being spent.” Broadbent complained the ministry had never sent him the latest document admitting the errors, saying the $20 million was up for grabs. “I have never received the attached document directly from MSD nor have I ever received any acknowledgment that I was right and they were wrong – obviously no thanks for achieving the just legal outcome. In fact no communication whatsoever.” <strong>The</strong> document claims that they will reach out to lawyers, accountants and financial writers to ensure everyone who may be entitled to back-payment has the opportunity to apply, he said. “As a chartered accountant, I have seen no such communication. No lawyer has advised me of any such communication and no financial writer has written anything about it as far as I know.” - NZ Herald
Thursday <strong>July</strong> <strong>15</strong> <strong>2021</strong> <strong>The</strong> <strong>Star</strong> 33 Allessa Sofa with Ottoman WAS $ 3299 NOW $ 2699 BE IN To win $1000! STOREWIDE SALE NOW ON! ENDS 02.08.21. SCAN QR TO ENter Lincoln 4 Seater – Grey WAS $ 2699 NOW $ 1999 Sydney 2.5 Seater WAS $ 799 NOW $ 599 ALL MAISON ON SALE Ramsey Single/Single Bunk Bed WAS $ 1299 NOW $ 999 Dallas Queen Bed WAS $ 449 NOW $ 299 HEAPS of SUPER DEALS! ALL DINING CHAIRS ON SALE Peyton – Tan $ 1<strong>15</strong> Duke $ 125 Serene Trundler Bed Set WAS $ 897 NOW $ 699 SCAN QR TO SHOP Zest $ 140 Camille – Rose $ 75 250 Moorhouse Ave, Christchurch 0800 TARGET (0800 827438) targetfurniture.co.nz Offers and product prices advertised here expire 02/08/21. Sale Excludes Accessories.
Change language