# Healthcare in NZ for child with medical condition



## dillydale (Jul 7, 2012)

My partner and I are thinking of moving to New Zealand due to a job offer that is in the pipeline. However, before i take the job situation to the next level, I need to investigate healthcare in NZ.
One of our children (18 months old) has a congenital heart condition called Wolff Parkinsons White (WPW). It is quite a common condition and we are hopeful that he will grow out of it. He sees a consultant in the UK about twice a year and is on regular beta-blocker medicine to keep everything in order. His consultant may start weaning him off the medication in the next few months. 

Basically, I need to know what this means for us all if we are living in NZ. Would his care be automatically signed over to a consultant in NZ? How would his medicine be managed if it turns out he needs to stay on it for a while longer. Would this condition mean that citizen would be declined (if we decided we wanted to stay there?)

On the outset, my child looks and acts like any other child. He has no other health conditions that we know of. 

Can anyone help guide us on this?


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## topcat83 (Apr 16, 2009)

dillydale said:


> My partner and I are thinking of moving to New Zealand due to a job offer that is in the pipeline. However, before i take the job situation to the next level, I need to investigate healthcare in NZ.
> One of our children (18 months old) has a congenital heart condition called Wolff Parkinsons White (WPW). It is quite a common condition and we are hopeful that he will grow out of it. He sees a consultant in the UK about twice a year and is on regular beta-blocker medicine to keep everything in order. His consultant may start weaning him off the medication in the next few months.
> 
> Basically, I need to know what this means for us all if we are living in NZ. Would his care be automatically signed over to a consultant in NZ? How would his medicine be managed if it turns out he needs to stay on it for a while longer. Would this condition mean that citizen would be declined (if we decided we wanted to stay there?)
> ...


Hi dillydally - welcome to the forum.
I think your first hurdle is not getting citizenship (you can only get that after five years of a full permanent residents visa) but getting the offer of residency in the first place. 
It depends on how New Zealand Immigration views your son's heart condition, and how much they calculate it will cost them to look after him in the NZ health system. You'll need the consultant to convince them that it's not going to be a major cost - otherwise it may cause you problems. So I'd investigate this first before you progress much further.


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## bdl123 (Apr 2, 2012)

I agree with TopCat...WPW may throw a huge spanner in your plans! Get yourself a decent immigration agent to help you as you may be in for a long fight...Good luck x

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## dillydale (Jul 7, 2012)

Thanks for the info. Do either of you know how I can check this out before proceeding with the job opportunity? Or is it a case of accepting job, applying for visa...and hope for the best?
Can I contact an immigration agent for advice?

Many thanks in advance.


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## topcat83 (Apr 16, 2009)

dillydale said:


> Thanks for the info. Do either of you know how I can check this out before proceeding with the job opportunity? Or is it a case of accepting job, applying for visa...and hope for the best?
> Can I contact an immigration agent for advice?
> 
> Many thanks in advance.


I'd contact immigration, and maybe visit one of the doctors that is on the list of ones that can do NZ medicals in advance of spending all the money that will be required for the full immigration process. They'd probably be able to advise you if there is a major problem then.


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## carosapien (Oct 16, 2011)

dillydale said:


> Basically, I need to know what this means for us all if we are living in NZ. Would his care be automatically signed over to a consultant in NZ? How would his medicine be managed if it turns out he needs to stay on it for a while longer. Would this condition mean that citizen would be declined (if we decided we wanted to stay there?)


You'd have to live near a hospital that has specialists in his condition, I'm thinking somewhere like Starship for instance. It would be up to your GP to decide who to sign him over to, unless you go private and then you'll have more choice. However, private insurance probably won't cover existing conditions. There tends to be waiting lists for non-life threatening/less urgent conditions, even if you go private, because of the shortage of doctors.

Before you start worrying about medical waivers and getting PR you should be thinking more about the standard of long term care your child is going to receive and whether you're going to be happy with it. Are there any on-line NZ support groups where you can get some more detailed info about what other parents people think about the service their children receive? Can you talk to some healthcare workers in this field?

Don't take it for granted that things are done the same in NZ as they are in Britain, or that all the same types of drugs and treatments are available.


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