New Zealand - Revealed: better health outcomes for all

Citation

(2005), "New Zealand - Revealed: better health outcomes for all", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 18 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2005.06218bab.006

New Zealand - Revealed: better health outcomes for all

New Zealand - Revealed: better health outcomes for all

Keywords: Primary care, Public health, New Zealand

The roll-out of Primary Health Organisations is contributing to advances in the battle to reduce health inequalities.

This is one of the findings in the Ministry of Health’s annual Health and Independence Report 2004 which documents the performance of the health sector and the state of public health in New Zealand.

The report, released today by Director General of Health, Dr Karen Poutasi, reveals that more than 3.7 million New Zealanders have enrolled in Primary Health Organisations (PHO) since the first was established in 2002.

Importantly, this includes a significant proportion from the target high needs groups. Nearly 80 per cent of people living in high deprivation areas now belong to a PHO and many now receive low cost healthcare.

“These developments indicate that financial barriers to primary health care for disadvantaged populations can be addressed by the roll-out of the Primary Health Care Strategy,” says Dr Poutasi. “Cost is a barrier to health for low income people, yet it is often these people who have the greatest health needs.

“PHOs bring public health initiatives alongside traditional general practice to strengthen health promotion and illness prevention efforts.”

The Health and Independence Report 2004 focuses on the progress the health and disability system is making towards strategic goals, identifying successes and achievements and discussing critical issues and challenges facing the sector. It is intended to be a resource for a wide range of users, including health planners, health service providers, policy analysts, community groups and those interested in the sector.

“A major part of this year’s report explores how we are achieving goals of equity and access, quality, efficiency, effectiveness and intersectoral focus,” says Dr Poutasi.

The report reiterates that health inequalities persist, most affecting Maori and Pacific peoples and economically disadvantaged populations. It highlights actions across the sector to address these disparities.

Key findings of the report include:

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  New Zealanders now have a more positive view of the health system than in 1998;

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  the Government spent on average $1,863 per person on health in the 2002/03 year;

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  the number of patients waiting longer than six months for their first specialist assessment for elective services has decreased slightly;

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  infant mortality has decreased markedly over the last 50 years;

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  a substantial increase in numbers of people with diabetes enrolled in Get Checked programmes; and

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  avoidable mortality has declined by 48 percent since 1980.

Many population-level interventions are now producing positive effects. These include smoking cessation programmes such as Quitline, the Green Prescription programmes aimed at enhancing physical activity and the free fruit in schools programme. The national roll-out of the Meningococcal Vaccine Strategy is expected to have a big impact on controlling the meningococcal B epidemic.

These interventions, along with the reshaping of the primary care sector, are part of the drive to reduce the health burden from chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, which are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in New Zealand.

Efforts are also being made to improve cancer control management and services. The New Zealand Cancer Control Strategy and an associated action plan have been formulated to help set the direction for cancer control over the next five years. As well, an independent Cancer Control Council is being set up to provide a sustainable focus on cancer control, and the new position of Principal Advisor, Cancer Control, at the Ministry of Health, will shortly be established.

Work to improve coverage for the country’s two national cancer screening programmes continues. A highlight in 2004 was the extension of the age range for women eligible to receive free mammograms through Breast Screen Aotearoa to include women aged 45 to 69 years. This enabled more than 200,000 additional women to access publicly funded breast screening.

There has been concern over waiting times for oncology treatment. Increased numbers of people training to deliver medical radiation therapy are expected to improve waiting times for radiotherapy treatment.

The Health and Independence Report 2004 is available on the Ministry of Health web site (see www.moh.govt.nz).