Source: New Zealand Labour Party
Our Government is committed to making sure that our health system works for all New Zealanders, no matter who you are or where you live.
Transformation of our health system will take time, and the step we’re taking today – establishing Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority – is about getting the structure right.
In the coming months and years, New Zealanders right across the country will see real improvements to our health system. Here’s just a few of the ways our reforms will make a difference:
Better access to quality care, closer to home
We’re making it easier for people to get the care they need before little issues become big problems, requiring hospitalisation. This will ensure New Zealanders can get the care they need earlier, and help to ease the pressure on our hospitals.
The main way New Zealanders interact with the health system is through primary and community care providers, such as GP clinics. Under the new Health New Zealand model, these providers will be better connected. This will mean that patient records and care pathways will follow patients as they access different services – meaning people will be able to get quality care faster.
We’re also investing in better digital technology, which will help to increase access to health services, especially for people in rural and remote communities who may not be able to travel to physical appointments.
Improved emergency and specialist care
We want to make sure that when New Zealanders need emergency or specialist care, it will be available and it will be of high quality. We also want to make sure you can get the same quality of care, no matter where you live.
Under Health New Zealand, specialist and hospital services will be planned at a national level and managed via regional networks. This means there will be more consistency of care – improving care for rural and smaller communities – as well as ensuring people have greater certainty around access to complicated or specialist care.
We’ll also see less pressure on staff and hassle for patients, thanks to greater coordination across the whole of New Zealand reducing administrative work and complexity.
More equitable healthcare
The Māori Health Authority will turn around generations of poor health outcomes for Māori. Working in partnership with Health New Zealand, the Māori Health Authority will drive patient and whānau centred care in a way that the current system has failed to do. Everyone will benefit from services that are built around people, not the clinician.
A strong workforce
We know that the strength of our health system depends on our hard-working health professionals. Alongside the work we’re doing to grow our workforce and address issues such as pay equity, the new system will ensure that these workers are supported and well-trained – and that their daily work is underpinned by better long-term planning, and collaboration between organisations.
These reforms build on all the work we’ve done to make sure Kiwis can get the care they need, including our record investments in health, upgrades to hospitals and health centres, extra funding for lifesaving medicines, more nurses and ambulances, and new frontline mental health services.
As a Government, we’re committed to leading the change needed to ensure Kiwis have a health system we can proud of today, and for generations to come.
Find out more about how we’re improving healthcare for all New Zealanders here. Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter
