Latest news with #HealthyFutures)Act
Scoop
6 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
Māori Marginalised By Changes To Pae Ora Act
The Government's Cabinet-approved amendments to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act represent yet another attack on Māori aspirations for equitable health outcomes and self-determination the PSA says. The sweeping changes announced by Minister of Health Simeon Brown on 14 Pipiri (June) 2025 are regressive and undermine the intent and spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the hard-fought recognition of Māori leadership in health delivery, Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi - the Public Service Association Kaihautū Māori, Janice Panoho, says. "The Pae Ora Act was a step towards correcting decades of inequity and systemic failure in health. These amendments strip away the very mechanisms Māori advocated for and were promised, particularly the ability to shape local service design and delivery through Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards IMPBs)," says Panoho. "This is a heartless government, pushing through draconian policy under the guise of efficiency. What they call 'streamlining' is in fact the deliberate sidelining of Māori voices from decisions about Māori health. "Rather than enhancing Te Tiriti partnerships, the changes weaken Māori influence by making iwi-Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBS) mere advisors to the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee, removing their direct role in shaping services that affect their own communities. "This top-down, centralised approach reverts us to the very system that failed Māori for generations. "By repealing the Health Charter and diluting the role of IMPBs, this government is erasing the commitments to equity, kaupapa Māori, and the lived realities of whānau. It is deeply concerning," Panoho said. "We are not just stakeholders. We are tangata whenua. Health equity cannot be achieved if Māori are shut out of the rooms where decisions are made. These changes are a betrayal. Panoho says the PSA stands with Māori communities, health workers and iwi organisations in calling for the government to halt these amendments, engage in genuine consultation with Māori, and honour the promises made through Pae Ora and Te Tiriti o Waitangi. "The Government's emphasis on targets, infrastructure, and performance data ignores what Māori have said for decades, that meaningful, lasting health outcomes come from whānau-centred services designed with us, not for us. "The health system can't deliver for Māori while continuing to marginalise us. The PSA urges all political leaders, health professionals, and communities to scrutinise these changes and hold the Government accountable for actions that risk entrenching inequities even further. "He tangata akona ki te whare, tūnga ki te marae, tau ana. One who is trained at home will stand with confidence in the world. Let Māori solutions stand strong within our health system, not be cast aside once again."
The Spinoff
7 days ago
- Health
- The Spinoff
Huge rise in surgery outsourcing prompts alarm among doctors
The government's focus on elective surgery wait times has driven thousands of outsourced operations – and fresh warnings about the risks of draining public sector expertise, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. Health targets to be enshrined in law The government has unveiled sweeping amendments to the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act, the 2022 law that dissolved district health boards in favour of a national system, RNZ reports. Health minister Simeon Brown says that 'after years of bureaucracy and confusion, the health system lost its focus', and the amendments will help anchor patient outcomes at the heart of decision-making. Under the changes, infrastructure delivery will become a core statutory function of Health New Zealand, and oversight of Hauora Māori structures will be clarified. Perhaps most importantly, the national health targets – which were scrapped by Labour in 2018 before being resurrected by the coalition – will be put into law. Outsourcing to meet surgical goals To help hit the target of 95% of elective surgeries delivered within four months by 2030, the government last week announced it had funded nearly 10,000 extra procedures since January – most of them through private hospitals. Health NZ's plan is to outsource up to 20,000 low-complexity cases such as hip replacements, cataracts and hernias. What may be good news for suffering patients is bad news for the public health system, many medical staff say. Last month RNZ reported on a Health NZ memo to the minister warning that the high level of outsourcing would hasten an exodus of medical professionals from the public system. Speaking to Morning Report, Auckland radiologist Colleen Bergin echoed that sentiment. 'This will send the workforce into private. The pay is better, the parking is better, the transport is better, everything is better.' Meanwhile anaesthetists warned that siphoning off low-complexity surgeries could dramatically slow the rate at which trainees accrue the requisite number of training hours, and there's currently no system in place to have them train in private hospitals. Who really benefits from outsourcing? While outsourcing may bring quick wins on the government's elective surgery scoreboard, critics argue it's worsening the core problems. Writing in Newsroom, Ian Powell, former head of the Association of Salaried Specialists, says the approach ignores the main pressure point – chronic workforce shortages – while pumping taxpayer funds into for-profit hospitals and incentivising top specialists to shift their hours into the private sector. In some cases, surgeons and anaesthetists are now being paid thousands per shift to take on extra weekend work through in-sourcing arrangements in their own public hospitals. 'It beggars belief how much cash is being thrown around,' one anaesthetist, told Powell, who found that some in the sector could earn up to $15,000 for a single day as a private contractor. Powell argues the result is a system in which public hospitals are left with the more difficult cases and less capacity to treat them. Primary care 'second among equals' While hospitals and wait times dominate headlines, the primary care sector remains underfunded and politically sidelined, GPs say. A recent study showed that despite years of political rhetoric about its importance, primary care has received a flat share of the health budget – just 5.4% on average over the past 15 years, far below the OECD average. Speaking to Mariné Lourens in The Press (paywalled), Christchurch GP Buzz Burrell said the visibility of hospital wins makes them more attractive to ministers. 'It looks good if they fund a raft of very expensive drugs. It looks good if they fund more surgeries.' In contrast, 'if primary care is doing its job brilliantly, it's invisible.' Asked to respond, the health minister said primary care was a 'key priority', pointing to recent announcements including new clinical placements for overseas-trained doctors to work in primary care, extra doctor training places at medical schools and a new 24-hour telehealth service.
Scoop
30-04-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Regulators Removing Health Workforce Cultural Safety Risks Clinical Safety
Te Tiratu - Latest News [Page 1] Not The Time To Retreat — It's Time To Double Down More >> Bringing The Smile Back To Taumarunui: Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board Calls For Urgent Action On Dental Equity Monday, 14 April 2025, 3:22 pm | Te Tiratu It offered a range of on-the-spot services that included cardiac/diabetes/cancer screening, an eye clinic, immunisations, gall bladder/hernia/haemorrhoid banding specialists, to skin lesion clinics. More >> Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board Hosts Inaugural Forum With Health Providers To Strengthen Whānau Voices In Waikato Thursday, 10 April 2025, 10:28 am | Te Tiratu The hui is a vital step in realising the aspirations of the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act, which mandates IMPBs to bring the voices of whānau directly into the heart of Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand planning and decision-making. More >> Largest Iwi Māori Partnership Board Welcomes Bowel Screening Expansion & Calls For Māori-Focused Equity In Access Friday, 7 March 2025, 9:46 am | Te Tiratu 'Screening is an essential tool for prevention and early detection, and expanding access will definitely save lives,' said Hagen Tautari, co-chair Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board. More >>
