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New Zealand >
About NZ > Health
Visitors to NZ have limited cover from the
Accident Compensation Corporation which generally covers search,
rescue and emergency care, and New
Zealand has a reciprocal arrangement to provide free emergency
health care for UK and Australian citizens.
Emergency care does not cover ambulance, non urgent problems,
dentistry and ongoing treatment. As a visitor to New Zealand it is
most important to have full medical insurance.
If you are going into the wilderness we recommend a policy which also
covers for airborne
rescue. Dangers.
New Zealand once had an
excellent free public health care system that has been centralized and
is less effective in some areas. There are
often long waiting
lists for non essential surgeries and the waiting time for surgery can
be reduced by using one of the many quality private medical
establishments now exist.
Do carry
a basic first aid kit as New Zealand has a variety of biting insects
in some regions such as mosquitoes and sand flies which are mostly
just a nuisance, but can leave you
itching. There are bees and wasps which rarely cause problems, in the oceans there
are some stingers.
For the traveler in need of rest and relaxation or with
non critical but chronic conditions, there are many natural
solutions which help by
bolstering immune function, assisting with detoxification and
providing relaxation and natural healing. You will find many osteopaths and chiropractors, naturopaths, masseuses,
homeopaths, reflexologists and other healers
working alongside medical doctors (MD) and specialists.
So take a get healthy holiday where the cost of the holiday
and treatments in New Zealand may be less that the cost of treatment
alone in your country. Or if you are wanting cosmetic surgery, there
are real savings to be made.
A 5-15
minute visit to a doctor costs around $30.00 - $50.00
and these prices are on the increase.
Prescription/medicine costs are added to this.
A one hour visit with a naturopath or osteopath may be less that a
hundred dollars and massage prices range from $50.00 - $100.00.
For non prescription health/medical supplies, chemists, pharmacies,
herbalists and natural health shops carry a wide range of
products.
And there is been a
trend for doctors to abandon
rural communities for city life, anyone seriously
injured or ill outside of the main cities may need to
be flown to the nearest city hospital.
There have been instances of foreign
nationals getting free medical care, this has now been
publicly discussed and stopped, so expect user pays, however it may
be less expensive that where you now live.
Health Information -
Health Practitioners
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