[ad_1]
The new health minister says major reforms to public health services could be completed in two years, with the system “calling for change now.”
In his inaugural address to the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists in Wellington on Thursday, Andrew Little said the government would make “critical decisions” on Disability and Health System Review recommendations early next year.
The review, published in June, originally said that recommendations, including reducing the number of DHBs from 20 to between 8 and 12 and creating a new body to oversee the health system, would take up to five years. Little’s predecessor David Clark called the report a “three- to five-year change program.”
However, Little said Thursday that he believed the reforms could be completed in two years.
READ MORE:
* The Government likes to say that it follows the advice of the experts, that is not entirely true
* Coronavirus: Heather Simpson to Lead Border Response, Some Maori Health Leaders ‘Gutted’
* Māori National Urban Authority calls for Maori self-determination in health
Ross Giblin / Stuff
Health Minister Andrew Little says the reorganization of the health service could take between 18 months and two years.
“I think it’s too long to make changes to a system that now calls for a change,” Little said.
“In my opinion, we should take 18 months to two years to make the fundamental changes we need to make, so that the work on establishing processes and culture can begin.”
The government has accepted the findings of the wholesale review, but the Cabinet has to decide on specific recommendations and whether to implement them.
On Thursday, Little did not directly say whether he would reduce the number of DHBs.
He said there was a “fragmented nature of decision-making across the system, and we have to reorient that,” he said.
“For a country of our size, doing the opposite runs a very real risk, which is happening now, of duplicate effort and wasted effort.”
One of the main recommendations of the panel was to establish a Maori Health Authority to sit alongside the New Zealand Ministry of Health and Health and advise on all aspects of Maori health policy.
A transition unit was established to work out the details of the changes, and a group of ministers, led by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, would push for the changes, he said.
“The government is mandated to advance these reforms and leading these changes is really my top priority,” Little said.
ASMS President Murray Barclay said it was encouraging to hear that Little wanted to move quickly on the recommendations,
“It seems like he’s really looking forward to moving forward and making changes happen in the next 18 months to two years, which is pretty fast,” he said.
“It really depends on which of those changes are adopted and how fast it goes. We need more information on that. “
