Latest news with #JulieWoods
RNZ News
14-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Navigating New Zealand's ableist health system with a disability
Photo: 123RF Julie Woods has navigated the world without sight since 1997 - but it is New Zealand's healthcare system that has most often left her in the dark. "For so long now, we've been getting our appointment letters in print, which - as a blind person - just seems so ridiculous," she said. "I received a letter from ACC in print and when I called them to say, 'This is not my preferred format - could you please email it to me?', they said, 'No, we can't do that'." Woods said there seemed to be a lack of awareness from healthcare workers, when it came to dealing with people who were blind - such as when an ophthalmologist handed her printed pre-operative instructions before cataract surgery, or when she was asked to fill out a printed meal form at the hospital, only for the catering team to later place the meal in front of her without saying a word. "It's the importance of saying who you are when you come into the room, [and] saying that you're leaving the room and when you come back," she said. "There are so many people that come into that hospital setting who, all of a sudden, start touching you or talking to you. You don't know who they are and you don't know whether they're talking to you." Julie Woods. Photo: julie woods Woods also called for medication to be labelled in braille. "When I go to the pharmacy and pick up my medication, it comes in a big bag," she said. "The way I can identify my medication is by the shape of the box or the size of the tube, or the feel of the tablet. "I can't tell what they're for. I just recognise them by the shape - and that's not ideal. "I had two tubes of ointment - one was for my vagina and one was for my face, and I couldn't tell which was which." At Access Matters Aotearoa's webinar on Wednesday - part of their Kōrero for Change series - Donald Beasley Institute junior research fellow Umi Asaka said experiences like Woods' were part of a wider problem within New Zealand's healthcare system. While Health Minister Simeon Brown announced that Cabinet had approved a suite of amendments to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 on Saturday , none of those were for people with disabilities. The medical model of disability was rooted in disablism and ableism, Asaka said. "It says that disabled people should have medical intervention to change our body and mind to become as close to non-disabled people's body and mind. "There are lots of different treatments within healthcare system that are - of course - needed, but there are also other treatments that are about making our bodies and mind fit into this ableist society." New Zealand's health system is even worse for Māori, who - at the end of May - had told the Waitangi Tribunal that the health system was failing them . Dr Huhana Hickey, a claimant in the Waitangi Tribunal's inquiry into the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora - the Māori Health Authority - had been working with Te Aka Whai Ora to ensure there was a voice for Māori with disabilities, before it was disestablished. "Disabled people aren't faring well - but the most deprived demographic - and the last time Ministry of Health did this was in 2001, so it shows you they didn't want to show it again - was Māori disabled. "Then halfway down on that graph, it was Māori non-disabled, second most deprived. Dr Huhana Hickey. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson Health New Zealand disability strategy head Rachel Noble said New Zealand's health system was "ableist by nature". "The individuals who work within Health New Zealand are, on the whole, very willing to create inclusive and accessible health services, but they're not sure how and there are many systems within the system that need to be addressed." Noble said Health New Zealand needed to "change the narrative". "That means reframing the way we think about disability in health to become inclusive and accessible for disabled people - to be responsive and relevant." She said Health New Zealand had committed to promoting the disability model of care, developing a tool that would allow people with disabilities to communicate their accessibility needs for healthcare appointments, and engaging with the community to inform service improvements. Noble added that there were also resources that Health New Zealand already had in place, which she had personally used, such as the "I am deaf" card. "I showed it to the receptionist, and straight away her body language changed, and she adapted how she communicated with me. She also took that card and passed it on to the next person, who passed it on to the next person," she said. "By the time I left that appointment, I didn't have the stress of having to justify or explain myself. I didn't have to teach people on the way. "They were all really able to accommodate me, which meant I left feeling like a human being - and I think that's the feeling that we want to create for everyone." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Otago Daily Times
10-06-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Attitude to eye health criticised
A multinational pharmaceutical company has stooped to "punching down" on New Zealand's disabled community while promoting its vision loss treatment, a Dunedin advocate says. Market research by the New Zealand arm of Roche, a Swiss multinational holding healthcare company, was released last week and said while most people understood the importance of vision, public awareness of specific eye conditions, symptoms and how to prevent vision loss remained low. "New Zealanders overwhelmingly value their vision above all other senses according to recent market research, with participants saying they'd be willing to lose 5.6 years of perfect health, rather than live a decade without sight," the company's media release began. In New Zealand, Roche distributes Vabysmo, a medicine approved by MedSafe to treat age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the country. Blind and low vision advocate and Dunedin resident Julie Woods, who is also known as "That Blind Woman", said it "distresses" her the company was comparing hypothetical trade-offs between life expectancy and vision loss. "That just shows how afraid people are of vision loss," she said. "You can live a perfectly good life without vision, but you can't without your health." She said preserving eye health was "obviously" a great cause. "But it doesn't give organisations the right to push their own product and put down [or punch] down a community of people." Ms Woods said Roche's approach spoke to a medical model of disability which was: "we can't fix you, therefore you're broken". "Whereas the social model of disability says that we are disabled by the barriers that society creates, and we're not broken and we're not less than." She said Roche's use of New Zealanders' fears of not seeing loved ones' faces or recognising facial expressions, body language and social cues was "bull...." and was emotive toward sighted people. A Roche spokesperson said the market research was based on a similar study conducted in the United Kingdom and the company sought guidance from professionals within the eye community, including a patient advocacy group. "Their advice advocated for raising awareness about the importance of eye health and regular eye examinations to prevent irreversible, yet preventable, vision loss," the spokesperson said. "The intent of the campaign was to raise awareness of the importance of eye health and preventable vision loss, encouraging individuals to get their eyes tested or seek help if they are experiencing symptoms." The spokesperson said Roche respected Ms Woods' opinion and acknowledged her advocacy for the blind and low vision community in New Zealand.
Otago Daily Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
World travels shared in podcast
"That Blind Woman" Julie Woods and husband Ron Esplin host The World in 360 Minutes on OAR FM. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Though Julie Woods and husband Ron Esplin have seen the world through different eyes, they bring a shared vision to a new radio show and podcast series on OAR FM. The World in 360 Minutes is a 36-part exploration of the couple's globetrotting adventures. Each group of 10-minute episodes in the series is connected through a common theme, starting with "Around the World in 80 Minutes", which focuses on Ron's eight decades of international travel. By the age of 10, Ron had been around the world one and a-half times by ship, crossing the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. By age 80, the tally of countries Ron has visited is 80, many with Julie, who is blind, as his travel companion. Travelling by land, sea and air, Ron recorded his impressions of the sights he saw through watercolour paintings, some of which feature in the couple's recently published book Around the World in 80 Years. Julie's travel tales are informed by sound, smell, touch and taste. Her plan is to have brought her own tourist tally to 60 countries before her 60th birthday in January, 2026. The radio and podcast series features the pair in lively conversation about their experiences. The World in 360 Minutes airs on Saturdays at 10am on 105.4FM and 1575AM. Podcasts are available from and other major platforms. A full schedule of OAR FM programmes can be found at By Jeff Harford, Community liaison, OAR FM
