Latest news with #HealthyFutures)Act2022
1News
3 days ago
- Health
- 1News
'Postcode healthcare' persists — new report by government watchdog
Where you live — rather than how sick you are — is still a major factor in how quickly you get elective surgery — or whether you get it at all, according to a new report by the government watchdog. The report, Providing equitable access to planned care, which has just been tabled in Parliament by the Auditor-General John Ryan, showed elective services in the public system were often "not equitable or timely". People with the same level of clinical need will qualify for treatment in some districts but not in others. "As a result, a person's ability to access treatment is, to a significant extent, determined by where they live," the report noted. "Some clinical staff we spoke with were of the view that a lack of capacity to provide treatment had led to some thresholds that no longer reflect clinical need." ADVERTISEMENT The Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 required Health New Zealand to ensure access to treatment (such as operations to remove cataracts or tonsils, joint replacements and hernia repairs) was based on people's clinical need — not their background, circumstances, or where they live. However, the audit found Māori, Pacific peoples, people with disabilities, those living in rural areas or in poverty had worse access to planned care. Health NZ was gradually introducing nationally consistent thresholds for ranking access to planned care. "It has introduced a national threshold for cataract treatment. Work is under way to align other thresholds for orthopaedics, otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat conditions), and cardiology," the report said. RNZ reported on Thursday about the long wait times for ear, nose and throat services in Tairāwhiti, which had less than a quarter of the specialist capacity needed. Introducing a national threshold for cataract treatment had led to about 1800 people added to the waiting list in the Southern District and about 900 more people put on the waiting list in Counties Manukau, the new report found. In orthopaedics, threshold "scores" for orthopaedic treatment range from 50 in Auckland and Canterbury to 80 in Wairarapa. ADVERTISEMENT "This means that a person's condition needs to be significantly worse in Wairarapa than Canterbury or Auckland to qualify for treatment." District-specific thresholds still in place were also "obscuring the extent of unmet need for treatment in some districts". "Significant work will be required to deal with the changes in demand that will result from the introduction of nationally consistent thresholds across all specialities." A doctor prescribing pharmacy to patient. (Source: Getty) Faster treatment not same as 'equitable' treatment The true level of unmet need was unknown, the report continued. "One possible measure of unmet need is the number of people who are assessed by a specialist but do not meet the threshold for treatment. ADVERTISEMENT "However, we also heard some clinicians will not refer a person for specialist assessment if they are considered unlikely to meet the treatment threshold. "Media reports during our audit suggested that specialities in some districts were not accepting referrals because they did not have the resources and would be unable to meet target time frames for assessing or treating people." Meeting the government's target for 95% of people receiving planned care treatment within four months by 2030 was going to require "significant improvement" the report said. "During our audit, the latest available reporting (for October to December 2024) showed that about 59% of planned care patients received treatment within four months of being placed on a waiting list. "The proportion of people receiving planned care treatment within four months has been in decline since 2017." However, the focus on improving wait times should go hand-in-hand with a focus on equitable access, the report urged. "Equity also needs to be a central consideration in Health NZ's work to improve timely provision of treatment. If this does not happen, there is a risk that strategies to improve timeliness could cause further inequities." ADVERTISEMENT Health was so interconnected, that too much focus in one area inevitably put pressure on the system elsewhere. For instance, the number of patients waiting longer than one year for treatment was cut from more than 4000 in October 2023, to 1916 by July 2024, although it rose again to 2630 by December 2024. However, in the same period, the waiting list for first specialist assessments nearly doubled, from 5000 to 9936, the auditors found. Outsourcing could 'exacerbate' inequities Health Minister Simeon Brown's push for more outsourcing to private providers needed to be carefully managed so it did not lead to greater inequities, the Auditor-General said. "Access to the private hospitals that provide outsourced treatment is not equally distributed across the country. This means that some districts can outsource patients more easily and at shorter notice than others. "In addition, not all patients can be outsourced for treatment. The people selected for outsourcing to private facilities are generally determined to be non-complex patients." ADVERTISEMENT Māori and Pacific peoples and people living in socially deprived areas were also more likely to have complications, which would bar them from treatment in a private hospital. "Health NZ needs to manage and monitor the outsourcing of treatment so that it does not compromise its focus on the treatment of patients in priority order or otherwise increase inequity in planned care." Auditor-General's recommendations for Health NZ Prepare a plan with a clear timeline for introducing nationally consistent thresholds for planned care treatment Put in place actions to improve equity of access to treatment and that efforts to improve timeliness do not increase inequities Strengthen its knowledge of equitable access to treatment by looking at unmet need and other information gaps Enable clear public reporting of how long people waiting for treatment, variations in access and how HNZ will improve equity of access.
Otago Daily Times
22-06-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
New hospital build boss to get $2.5k a day
A corporate troubleshooter is being paid $2500 a day to lead the new Dunedin hospital's build due to ministerial claims the project could drag down Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) without his leadership. Health Minister Simeon Brown launched a broadside at HNZ by this week appointing Todd Corporation chief executive Evan Davies as Crown manager of the project, using a law allowing a crisis management appointment in the event of HNZ ineptitude. In a withering statement in the government's Gazette that justified the appointment, Mr Brown repeatedly slammed HNZ. It had "struggled to maintain momentum on the project and identify a path forward following consistent cost pressures and extensions to the estimated delivery timeframes for the project. "These delays have also created delays and additional costs." The minister concluded that the HNZ failings posed a risk to its ability to continue due to the size of the project, the fiscal risks and the impact on health services if "cost pressures are not adequately addressed and delivery is further delayed". He used the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 to appoint Mr Davies. Section 63 permits a Crown manager to be appointed if the minister thinks there is a "risk to the operation or long-term viability" of HNZ. Mr Davies, who can claim expenses on top of his daily rate, led the Auckland Sky Tower build for gas and property company Todd. He was chairman of the new Dunedin hospital's governance committee from December 2020 until June 2023, but resigned amid project problems. In the Gazette , Mr Brown said Mr Davies would report to him and hold wide-ranging responsibility, included signing up a main contractor for the in-patient building by mid-September. The role includes "negotiating the final contract for the main works package of the in-patient building and delivery of the implementation business case to cabinet for approval within the next three months". Mr Davies was also responsible for determining the build. He would "deliver the construction scope and programme as it relates to the inpatient building (including reinstatement of additional capacity)", Mr Brown said. The procurement of long-lead items, to maintain build momentum, also falls under his remit. Mr Davies' appointment has no fixed end, but would be reviewed annually and provide "strengthened client-facing leadership", the minister said. A final report would be required. Last Saturday, Mr Brown announced changes to the Pae Ora Act, including making infrastructure a HNZ "core legislated function" and establishing an infrastructure committee. At a select committee hearing yesterday, he made "no apology for utilising the private sector to get things done and ensure people get the care they need in a timely manner". He said remedying poor health infrastructure "will require multiple decades of investment". HNZ is led by interim chief executive Dr Dale Bramley after Margie Apa stepped down this year. His department had employed a programme director for the hospital build, but the role has been vacant since last November. Two programme directors with hospital-building experience have exited in recent years. Blake Lepper, who joined HNZ as head of infrastructure delivery in March last year,is described by HNZ as the build's senior responsible officer. HNZ previously said it planned to use Crown Infrastructure Delivery — a company mandated to help struggling government agencies deliver infrastructure — to help with the build, but is unclear how.
The Spinoff
19-06-2025
- Health
- The Spinoff
Star Wars jokes and surgeries, not strategies: Inside scrutiny week, part two
The vibes were tense as ministers and officials got a grilling in the final two days of scrutiny week, where government spending is put under the microscope. Health The energy was testy, to say the least, when health minister Simeon Brown faced the health committee at Bowen House on Wednesday morning. More accurately, Brown faced off with former health minister and current Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall, who caused a bit of a delay as things kicked off by attempting to move that the session be extended by 30 minutes (she was voted down on that), then that only the opposition could ask questions (again, she was voted down). Verrall and Brown argued over deficits, medicines and bed shortages, and when they failed to see eye-to-eye, Brown would challenge her to 'look in the mirror'. When Green MP Hūhana Lyndon asked why the minister had recently decided to repeal the health charter and sector principles in the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, many of which are underpinned by obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi, Brown said the frameworks didn't have enough focus on patient outcomes. 'If you look at those health sector principles, one of them is requiring the health system to deliver against climate change obligations,' Brown said. 'We have a ministry for the environment for that. I want surgeries, not strategies.' Oranga Tamariki That tense atmosphere persisted all day. In select committee room 5, the social services and community committee gathered just before midday to hear from children's minister Karen Chhour on Oranga Tamariki spending, but committee member Willow-Jean Prime ( Labour's children's spokesperson) was more keen to talk about the second preliminary youth boot camp evaluation released on Friday, and why the minister hadn't bothered to send out a press release to let anyone know it existed. 'I don't usually make it my personal job to pick up the phone and ring you,' Chhour told her. It wasn't an easy session for Chhour. Prime and Labour colleague Helen White grilled and heckled her over the boot camp pilot, the unrevealed reoffending rates and the fact that six of the nine rangatahi who went through the pilot were now in a youth justice facility. When committee chair Joseph Mooney attempted to turn the heat down by blocking Prime's questions and asking her to be silent, Prime bit back at him, too. The constant hubbub was enough to make NZ First's Tanya Unkovich snap 'show some respect!' But to her credit, Chhour was candid when she spoke about the grief experienced by these rangatahi following a death in the cohort, and how it 'derailed some of these young people mentally'. Pilot lead Iain Chapman told the committee that reoffending rates were 'not a sign of failure or success of a programme … it's about trying something different for these young people' – but he couldn't convince the opposition that the price tag and outcomes had been worth it. Whānau Ora The hearing into Whānau Ora's spending was a funny one, considering two of the Māori affairs committee members (Labour's Willie Jackson and Te Pāti Māori's Takutai Tarsh Kemp) once had leadership roles in the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency (WOCA). Though WOCA wasn't the only agency to lose its Whānau Ora contract earlier this year, it was naturally at the forefront of many of the opposition's questions. Jackson, putting it 'all on the table', was reassured by both Māori development minister Tama Potaka and Te Puni Kōkiri chief executive Dave Samuels that neither cabinet nor any minister had a say in the Whānau Ora tender, nor was WOCA's contract rescinded because its CEO, John Tamihere, is also the president of Te Pāti Māori. After telling Labour's Peeni Henare the Whānau Ora tender was 'brown-clad', in response to concerns mainstream providers could one day be favoured over Māori ones, Potaka only had 'Oh! Ka pai!' to say to Kemp. She used the last few minutes of the hearing to lament the 'waste of time' the changeover in contracts had been for providers – 'we already had a commissioning agency that did that [navigator reporting and regulated outcomes], and there's evidence for days to prove that, so your responses don't make sense'. 'I don't think there was a question,' Samuels responded. Media Broadcasting minister Paul Goldsmith had to assure the social services and community committee on Wednesday afternoon that it was 'certainly not my expectation' that RNZ Concerts would be on the chopping block in light of recent cuts to RNZ's funding. At the end of the day, 'it's ultimately up to the [RNZ] board'. With that life-or-death matter out of the way, Goldsmith was free to confirm that he would be making progress on a domestic screen production rebate, had no commitment to regulating streaming platforms and, no, Winston Peters was not responsible for the aforementioned RNZ cuts. But he did have an inspirational message to the media industry: 'Get out there and keep on hustling.' There was a slight uproar at the end from Labour's Reuben Davidson and Rachel Brooking, both of whom couldn't believe committee chair Mooney called the hearing off with one minute to spare – precious grilling time, gone to waste. 'Let's just say we got shut down before our time,' Brooking complained. 'Like the media,' Davidson remarked. Environment Thursday morning in Bowen House was slightly awkward. Environment minister Penny Simmonds, RMA minister Chris Bishop and biosecurity minister Andrew Hoggard were gathered to talk about Vote Environment, and it didn't take very long for one of the ministers to put their foot in it. When Act MP Simon Court asked his party colleague Hoggard what should be done about Te Mana o Te Wai – a concept underpinning the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management that recognises and upholds the health and mauri of water – the minister said the government needed to 'balance things out' so that the 'life force of the water' didn't come ahead of economic growth (as promised in the Act-National coalition agreement). 'There's a whole range of spiritual concepts in [Te Mana o Te Wai] – what is the life force? As a Star Wars fan, when someone says 'the life force' I'm thinking, 'what's the midi-chlorian count?'' 'That was a joke,' Hoggard explained, to not a single laugh from the room.
Scoop
18-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
New Board Members Appointed To The Health Quality & Safety Commission
Minister of Health Health Minister Simeon Brown has today announced three new board appointments to the Health Quality & Safety Commission. The Health Quality & Safety Commission (HQSC) is a Crown entity responsible for improving quality and safety across the health and disability systems within New Zealand. 'I am very pleased to welcome Dr Peter Watson, Taima Campbell, and Clare Perry to the HQSC board,' Mr Brown says. Dr Peter Watson has been appointed as a member for a three-year term commencing 18 June 2025. Taima Campbell and Clare Perry have both been appointed as members for two-year terms commencing 18 June 2025. 'Dr Watson is a specialist youth health physician, a clinical leader with expertise in medical administration and paediatrics and currently contracted as Regional Strategic Clinical Advisor to Health New Zealand. His governance roles include serving as independent chair of the Clinical Governance Committee for Forte Health Ltd, and as a trustee for both Cancer Research Trust New Zealand and the Aotearoa Clinical Trials Trust. He is also a member of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.' 'Ms Campbell is a registered nurse with over 35 years' experience, specialising in system quality and patient safety within the health care sector. As Director of Hauraki Health Consulting Ltd, she has led numerous initiatives focused on clinical governance, quality improvement, and risk management.' 'Ms Perry is an experienced public servant with a strong background in health, regulatory services, and leadership. She has held senior roles, including Deputy Director-General at the Ministry of Health and other roles in regulatory services, health system improvement and innovation, and integrated service design, and has played a key role in implementing significant health initiatives'. 'I would like to thank outgoing members Dr Andrew Connolly for his services to the Board since 2018, and Dr Jennifer Parr for her services to the Board since 2019.' 'These members provided expertise and advice during their time on the Board. I thank them for their significant contribution and look forward to working with the new members as they begin their terms,' Mr Brown says. For more information on the HQSC, see: Note: · HQSC was established under the New Zealand Public Health & Disability Amendment Act 2010 and now functions under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022. · HQSC works with clinicians, consumers, health and disability sector providers – private and public – and consumers to improve health and disability support services. · Quality and safety improvements will mean fewer people are harmed, more lives are saved, and financial savings are realised within the sector. · Key HQSC areas of work include adverse events, building leadership and capability, improved service delivery, infection prevention and control, medication safety, mental health and addiction, system safety, trauma, consumer engagement, primary care and mortality review.
Scoop
14-06-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Putting Patients First: Government To Refocus Health System On Outcomes
Press Release – New Zealand Government This Government is focused on delivery getting the basics right, fixing what the previous Government broke, and ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. Minister of Health The Government will introduce legislation to ensure the health system is more accountable, more efficient, and focused on delivering better outcomes for patients, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. 'After years of bureaucracy and confusion, the health system lost its focus. The previous government scrapped health targets, centralised decision-making with no accountability, while every single health target went backwards meaning patients waiting longer for the care they need,' Mr Brown says. 'This Government is focused on delivery – getting the basics right, fixing what the previous Government broke, and ensuring New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare.' Cabinet has approved a suite of amendments to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022, designed to strengthen the performance of Health New Zealand and ensure a clearer, more accountable system. 'These changes are about improving health outcomes by making sure the system is focused on delivery, not bogged down in doing the same thing twice. That means better care for patients through a more connected, transparent, and effective health system,' Mr Brown says. 'The previous Government's reforms created a bloated system where no one was truly accountable for delivery. We're changing that,' Mr Brown says. 'We're putting health targets into law so every part of the system is focused on delivering faster care, shorter wait times, higher immunisation rates, and real results.' The current legislation is too focused on bureaucracy rather than patients, with multiple charters and plans creating confusion and fragmentation. These reforms repeal the health sector principles and health charter – cutting needless bureaucracy – while requiring each population strategy to give effect to the Government's health targets. Mr Brown says infrastructure delivery was one of the most serious failings under the previous Government. 'Too many builds were delayed, blown out, or never even started. We're addressing this by establishing a dedicated infrastructure committee and embedding infrastructure as a core function of Health New Zealand. This means the board can focus on lifting system performance where it matters most: for patients.' The Minister is also confirming changes to strengthen the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) and clarify the role of iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs). 'Local IMPBs will continue to engage with their communities but will now provide advice directly to HMAC. That advice will then support decisions made by the Minister and the Health NZ board. 'These changes are about one thing – putting patients back at the centre. We're rebuilding a health system that delivers real outcomes, not just organisational charts.' The Amendment Bill will be introduced to Parliament in the coming weeks. Notes: Key changes include: Establishing a new statutory purpose to ensure all patients have access to timely, quality healthcare. Legislated health targets to lock in accountability and ensure New Zealand's health system is measured and managed. Requiring all health strategies give effect to these targets. Stronger governance and financial oversight within Health New Zealand. Making the delivery of health infrastructure a core legislated function of Health New Zealand. Establishing a permanent infrastructure committee to carry out functions related delivery of physical health infrastructure by Health New Zealand. The Director-General of Health (or delegate) able to attend Health New Zealand board meetings to support monitoring. Ensuring simplified board appointment rules that select the best person for the job, based on skills and delivery. Clarifying public service integrity rules apply to the Health New Zealand board, CEO, and staff so patients know they're held to the highest standards. Removing audit requirements for the NZ Health Plan, aligning with other Crown entity requirements. Repealing the Health Charter and Sector Principles to reduce red tape and make things clearer for everyone. Enhancing the role of the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee (HMAC) to provide advice to the Minister and the board of Health New Zealand, that will be taken into account at the national level. Clarifying and streamlining iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs). IMPBs focus will shift away from local service design and delivery, to engaging with communities on local perspectives and Māori health outcomes. This legislation supports the Government's wider Health Delivery Plan – including reinstated health targets, a record $16.68 billion in funding, faster access to primary care, improved infrastructure delivery, and the recruitment and training of more frontline doctors and nurses.
