Health – Page 5 – Disability Connect

Health support and services for disabled people

Disabled people and their families use many different health services at different times in their lives.

In New Zealand, health support and disability support are connected, but they are not the same. They have different roles and are often provided by different organisations.

Health support

Health support is mainly about treating illness, injury, or medical conditions. Health services help when something is wrong or when you need medical care.

Health support can include:

Visits to your GP or nurse
Hospital care and emergency services
Seeing specialists
Mental health services
Therapy prescribed for medical reasons (like physiotherapy after an injury)

Health services are usually short-term or focused on treatment. The goal is to help you recover, manage symptoms, or stay medically well.

Many disabled people use both health and disability supports at the same time. For example, you might see a doctor for your health needs and also receive disability support to help you at home or in the community.

Sometimes it can be confusing to know which service to contact. Health support focuses on medical care, while disability support focuses on living well with a disability. Disability Connect can help explain these differences and show you where to go for support.

Below we share a list of links to health organisations that disabled people often use. This includes GPs, hospitals, specialists, therapists and community health services. These services can help with everyday health needs, long-term conditions, mental wellbeing, and recovery after illness or injury.