Who will health changes help?
The Government says it is committed to a major overhaul of the health system outlined in a health and disability review.
But how will it affect individual Kiwis?
If the Government takes up all the recommendations, the review authors are confident the experience of health services would improve across the board, but particularly for Ma¯ori and disabled people.
Fundamentally, more money would be spent to address the wide variability of experience and access to health care across the system.
This would address existing differences in specialist and hospital level care and treatment for cancer and other acute diseases.
Variability in services has been a huge issue in cancer treatment, with many patient advocate groups arguing outcomes have become a postcode lottery, even resulting in late diagnosis and early death for some.
In the new health system, a smaller group of DHBs would take direction from a new Crown entity, Health NZ, on how they deliver services, giving certainty to patients that their care wouldn’t be any different if they lived somewhere else.
In addition, all health providers would all be bound to a legislated health and disability charter ‘‘setting out shared values and guiding the culture, behaviours and attitudes expected of all parts of the health system’’.
For primary care, there would be more options under the new system, including a greater number of providers in the areas of highest need.
There would be increased use of digital technology, ‘‘outreach’’ and a wider range of kaupapa Ma¯ori services to make it easier for everyone to get the services they need.
For Ma¯ori, the proposed changes promise a substantial change.
‘‘The fact that Ma¯ori health outcomes are significantly worse than for other New Zealanders represents a failure of the health and disability system and does not reflect te Tiriti commitments,’’ the review states.
Under the new system, a Ma¯ori health authority would ‘‘ensure that ma¯tauranga Ma¯ori (Maori knowledge) and other Ma¯ori health issues are appropriately incorporated into all aspects of the system’’.
We could also expect to see a greater focus on population health, which includes prevention of illness and protection and promotion of health and wellbeing, resulting from a larger investment in this area.
The review states all community health providers ‘‘should be designed with a population health focus and an emphasis on strengthening prevention and outreach services’’.
This means it would be easier to access help to quit smoking, deal with alcohol abuse, lose weight and increase exercise.
It might also mean more government regulation over advertising of unhealthy food and
drinks and possibly a review of the proposal to tax sugary drinks.
The new system would bring an improvement in services for those with a disability, who ‘‘have not been well served by the existing health and disability system’’.
A complex and confusing support system with wide unexplained variability across the country would be replaced.