Statement of Intent 2002

Statement of Intent 2002

Date of Publication : July 2002

This Statement of Intent 2002 is the Ministry of Health’s first within a new planning framework for the Public Service. The State Services Commission and the Treasury have developed this planning framework with the aim of improving the management and results of public service activities.

The Ministry welcomes this initiative and looks forward to the gains that both the health and disability sector and the public stand to make from a more long-term, outcomes- focused approach. It is particularly fitting for the Ministry to embark on such a critical task at this time, as the recent sector changes have required a different approach to delivering public health and disability services. It is also appropriate that after an intense period of establishing a new health and disability system, the Ministry turns more of its focus inwards and works on developing its people, knowledge and systems to ensure that the public health and disability sector works for New Zealand. Ultimately this means achieving improved health and participation outcomes for all and reducing health inequalities between population groups.

The Ministry of Health provides the Government with strategic management of the public health and disability system, and is responsible for ensuring this system works for New Zealanders. To achieve this, the Ministry must ensure that the health and disability system provides quality services in an effective and efficient manner.

January 2001 saw the implementation of a new framework for the delivery of health and disability services in New Zealand. The New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act 2000 instituted these new arrangements. District Health Boards (DHBs) were established to provide for the needs of their local populations, within resources made available by the Government, and the Ministry’s role broadened as it took on new functions for sector planning and funding.

The challenge ahead for the Ministry is to ensure that it is well placed to function in its new role, and that its guidance and influence add value to the health and disability sector as a whole. A significant part of this involves supporting DHB development into organisations with a mandate for maximising health and disability gains within the resources available.

In meeting these challenges it is imperative that the gains of the past are consolidated and further work initiated to improve on these in the future. Key to these achievements is the implementation of the New Zealand Health Strategy and the New Zealand Disability Strategy. These strategies outline the significant areas that are most likely to achieve positive health and participation outcomes in the medium and longer term.

The Ministry and DHBs are jointly responsible for realising the outcomes highlighted in the strategies. DHBs are focussed on the needs of their local populations, while the Ministry maintains a national overview of the whole system There are considerable opportunities at both the national and local level for health and disability gain, which will best be advanced through collaboration and partnerships across the health and disability sector, and across other sectors of the public service.

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Statement of Intent