Hospice NZ adapt the 7 Keys for Aotearoa New Zealand

You have heard me talk about The Waiting Room Revolution for a couple of years now... it is all about activating and supporting individuals and their families to navigate the health system and increase the possibility of a better illness experience using their 7 Keys.

The Waiting Room Revolution was founded by Dr. Hsien Seow, health care researcher, and Dr. Sammy Winemaker, palliative care physician. Through their decades of experience, they saw the systemic gaps that leave patients and families unprepared for what to expect throughout a life-changing illness. Thus they started a social movement to improve the patient, family and provider experience. The Waiting Room Revolution challenges the status quo by advocating for a more compassionate, transparent, and empowering approach to healthcare. It seeks to empower individuals by bridging the gap between what healthcare providers know and what patients and families are told.

Although it was designed with serious illness in mind, these 7 keys can be applied to any situation where you are engaging with health professionals and the health system. Anything that is going to require you to make appointments with your GP, changes or adjustments to your current lifestyle to improve symptoms you are experiencing, the need for rehabilitation after an injury or even when you are trying to find answers for mystery symptoms, any of these scenarios mean you might have to spend time advocating for yourself or someone you love.

Hospice NZ have just released an adapted version of the Waiting Room Revolution’s 7 Keys to fit in the Aotearoa NZ context “7 Keys for Navigating a Terminal Diagnosis” ... check it out here on the Hospice NZ website.

For more information on what the Waiting Room Revolution and the 7 Keys is actually about then check out this short podcast here to learn a bit more about it.