The spread of Covid community cases recently from Auckland and Waikato down into central New Zealand towns shows how vulnerable we are to this delta variant. As the Government and health officials have been saying, it is not a question of if, but when. With several cases in Taranaki and elsewhere, from people who have been in the Auckland environment shows that a change in our status of alert in the capital could happen at any time. It is very likely that we will be in the new traffic light system before Christmas. That being a strong possibility we must be protected and we must care for others to ensure they are similarly protected from this deadly strain.
At our recent meeting with Brent Alderton, Chief Executive of the Mary Potter Hospice we learned how they are tackling palliative care in today’s environment for people faced with uncertainty and for many nearing the end of life. The legislation which came into force this month allowing for End of Life Choice under strict conditions indicates a different world from what we have known in the recent past.
There are significant pressures on medical professionals working hard to get our Covid protection to 90 plus percent as well as dealing with other pressures on our health system through changes in law passed by our Parliament. Through Rotary, we engage with many communities facing health challenges. This is an area of service where we can be justly proud of our efforts to provide funding for vaccines, for new facilities in hospitals to support patients and for ancillary services for patients in the community. This will continue to be a key objective for the Rotary Club of Karori going forward as we come to our Annual Meeting of the Club next Tuesday and looking ahead to select a President-Elect for the new Rotary Year in 2022-2023. Please do your best to be at this meeting.
We need to be conscious of the role we play with other clubs to serve and support people who need health care and who look to service club leaders to increase resources for the sustainability of health systems in New Zealand and in the Pacific Basin that is part of our Rotary strategic focus.
Warm regards
President Graeme