The Government's Medium-Term Strategy for Health and Disability Support Services 1999

Health and Disability Support Services 1999
INTRODUCTION

The twelve medium-term goals, in no particular order, are:

Public certainty about access, quality, and security of services
Give the public confidence that the level, mix, quality and structures of health and disability support services, including rural services, is secure and appropriate to both present and future.

Timely, equitable and nationally consistent access to elective services
Improve access to a nationally consistent level of publicly funded elective surgery services. This includes more timely access to first assessments and services, and ensuring that elective services are prioritised on a fair, transparent and consistent basis nationwide.

Acknowledging the special relationship between Maori and the Crown
Acknowledge the special relationship between Maori and the Crown in the health sector to ensure that publicly funded health and disability support services are responsive to Maori and continue to enable greater Maori participation at all levels of the health and disability sector.

Decreased long-standing disparities in health status
Make marked progress in decreasing the long-standing disparities in health and disability status, in particular for the needs of Maori and the needs of Pacific peoples, so that these groups can enjoy the same level of health as other New Zealanders.

Improved mental health
Improve services to decrease the prevalence of mental illness and mental health problems, and reduce the impact of mental disorders on consumers, their families, caregivers, and the general community.

Improved child health
Implement the Government’s child health strategy and improve the health status of children at high risk of poor health.

Improved disability support services
Improve disability support services, with the aim of maximising the ability of people with disabilities and their caregivers to enjoy a full and independent life.

Greater emphasis on population health approaches
Improve population health policies to improve the overall health outcomes for all New Zealanders, especially those who traditionally have less healthy outcomes. This includes making further progress on immunisation rates, healthier lifestyles, less smoking, better diets, and screening and health promotion programmes.

Well co-ordinated, integrated services that contribute to better health and disability outcomes
Develop initiatives that integrate the work of providers of primary and secondary health services so as to maximise the overall health outcomes for people and their communities.

Intersectoral collaboration between agencies and providers to achieve social policy objectives
Promote and support collaborative intersectoral initiatives to improve the delivery of health and other social services that recognise the person as a whole, as part of the Strengthening Families strategy.

Improved capability and adaptability of the health and disability sector
Improve the long-term performance of the health system by enhancing adaptability and the use of information, and ensuring greater coherence between the health service purchasing and public hospital ownership strategies.

Sustainability of the publicly funded health system
Fund and develop services on a sustainable basis, lower compliance and administration costs, and continue to improve management of demand-driven expenditure. The remainder of this document looks at these goals in more detail.

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The twelve medium-term goals, in no particular order, are:
	Public certainty about access, quality, and security of services Give the public confidence that the level, mix, quality and structures of health and disability support services, including rural services, is secure and appropriate to both present and future. Timely, equitable and nationally consistent access to elective services Improve access to a nationally consistent level of publicly funded elective surgery services. This includes more timely access to first assessments and services, and ensuring that elective services are prioritised on a fair, transparent and consistent basis nationwide. Acknowledging the special relationship between Maori and the Crown Acknowledge the special relationship between Maori and the Crown in the health sector to ensure that publicly funded health and disability support services are responsive to Maori and continue to enable greater Maori participation at all levels of the health and disability sector. Decreased long-standing disparities in health status Make marked progress in decreasing the long-standing disparities in health and disability status, in particular for the needs of Maori and the needs of Pacific peoples, so that these groups can enjoy the same level of health as other New Zealanders. Improved mental health Improve services to decrease the prevalence of mental illness and mental health problems, and reduce the impact of mental disorders on consumers, their families, caregivers, and the general community. Improved child health Implement the Government’s child health strategy and improve the health status of children at high risk of poor health. Improved disability support services Improve disability support services, with the aim of maximising the ability of people with disabilities and their caregivers to enjoy a full and independent life. Greater emphasis on population health approaches Improve population health policies to improve the overall health outcomes for all New Zealanders, especially those who traditionally have less healthy outcomes. This includes making further progress on immunisation rates, healthier lifestyles, less smoking, better diets, and screening and health promotion programmes. Well co-ordinated, integrated services that contribute to better health and disability outcomes Develop initiatives that integrate the work of providers of primary and secondary health services so as to maximise the overall health outcomes for people and their communities. Intersectoral collaboration between agencies and providers to achieve social policy objectives Promote and support collaborative intersectoral initiatives to improve the delivery of health and other social services that recognise the person as a whole, as part of the Strengthening Families strategy. Improved capability and adaptability of the health and disability sector Improve the long-term performance of the health system by enhancing adaptability and the use of information, and ensuring greater coherence between the health service purchasing and public hospital ownership strategies. Sustainability of the publicly funded health system Fund and develop services on a sustainable basis, lower compliance and administration costs, and continue to improve management of demand-driven expenditure. The remainder of this document looks at these goals in more detail.