Article – AsiaPacific Infrastructure More than eight decades of health reform have failed, and the current landscape of public and private healthcare interests is unstable, say New Zealand researchers Murray Horn and Des Gorman. Future reform must improve equality of access and outcome, …
More than eight decades of health reform have failed, and the current landscape of public and private healthcare interests is unstable, say New Zealand researchers Murray Horn and Des Gorman. Future reform must improve equality of access and outcome, they say.
These proved to be key drivers behind the health sector reforms announced today by Health Minister Andrew Little.
The changes are in response to the Health and Disability System Review, led by Helen Clark s former chief of staff Heather Simpson, which found the public health system, was complex and not equitable for Kiwis.Â
The interim Health and Disability System Review report in 2019 found MÄori have not been served well by the system , and the system overall has not delivered MÄori health and wellbeing outcomes that are fair . Â
Despite evidence that MÄori have not been served equitably in health, Collins fears the MÄori Health Authority will take New Zealand back to the era of segregation - when MÄori and PÄkehÄ lived separately.Â
But Brash is not a fan of the Government s plan. Speaking to Magic Talk s Sunday Cafe, he said the MÄori Health Authority was a disaster .
Brash said the proposal leads us down a direction of two different peoples and we don t want that kind of division . Are MÄori health issues important? Of course, they are, he told host Mel Homer. Are MÄori health outcomes worse than the general population? Yes, they certainly are and therefore MÄori health should warrant more spending on it - but a separate MÄori Health Authority? Absolutely not in my view.
Health Minister Andrew Little announces the Government plan to abolish the 20 DHBs.
A mega-agency – and a Māori agency – will replace the country’s DHBs. This is the most dramatic change to the health system in 20 years. Keith Lynch explains. Can we start with some context? Sure. Twenty years back, the Helen Clark-led Labour government introduced the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000, which led to the creation of 20 district health boards (DHBs) across the country. These organisations were set up to provide and fund healthcare in their regions. That’s one DHB for about every 250,000 New Zealanders, on average. But in reality they come in all shapes and sizes. The smallest, on the West Coast, is responsible for 32,000 people, while the Canterbury DHB is responsible for about 550,000.