New Zealand Health and Independence Report

Citation

(2002), "New Zealand Health and Independence Report", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 15 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2002.06215bab.007

New Zealand Health and Independence Report

New Zealand Health and Independence ReportKeywords: New Zealand health service improvements, Doctors' numbers, Demand for health services

According to a new report, The Health and Independence Report, published in November by the New Zealand Ministry of Health, more people than ever are being treated by New Zealand's health services.

The Health and Independence Report is an annual report on the state of the nation's health. It provides an overview and then looks at New Zealand's personal and family health services, disability support services, mental health services, public health services and Maori health. Each chapter summarises developments over the last decade, assesses key issues including financial resources and workforce factors; the main outputs; and an assessment of outcomes.

The report was released at the 13th Commonwealth Health Ministers' Meeting in Christchurch by Director-General of Health, Dr Karen Poutasi, who said:

As a country we spend more than $7 billion each year on health and disability support services. This report card on how well our health system is performing shows many real achievements as well as some concerning trends.

Amongst the improvements are a halving of the number of deaths in hospitals following coronary bypass surgery, a reduction in the likelihood of young children being hospitalised for asthma and substantial reductions in the incidence of deaths from lung cancer, infectious diseases and alcohol-related conditions. More efficient systems are being developed to meet the increased demand for treatment and to address waiting times. The average length of hospital stay has fallen by 50 per cent over the last decade. This is in part due to steady increases in people being treated on a day care basis, so more people can be treated overall.

However, there has been a steady 3 per cent per year increase in admissions to hospital from diseases and conditions that could be prevented by early primary health care. This type of admission was 58 per cent higher for Maori people and 89 per cent higher for Pacific peoples than for pakeha New Zealanders.

While there is a current shortage of some specialist health professionals, both nationally and internationally, the report shows that the number of active doctors in New Zealand has steadily increased since 1994 and between 1994 and 2000 there was a 21 per cent increase in the number of specialists in the health workforce. However, it also recognises that the demand for some health services has increased substantially over the past ten years.

A full copy of this report on New Zealand's health and disability system can be found on the Ministry of Health Web site at www.moh.govt.nz