Advice to the Incoming Minister of Health 2005

Advice to the Incoming Minister of Health
Date of publication: September 2005

Health and Participation: an active agenda provides the Ministry’s view at a strategic level of the key issues facing the incoming Minister of Health after the September 2005 general election.

It describes the major challenges for New Zealanders’ health and participation. There have been steady improvements, but not all New Zealanders have shared in these.

The key challenges for our health and disability support system, now and into the future, are in:

community and government working for health and participation
services delivering for populations in need
services there for individuals who need them most
planning and funding for the short and long term
capability to deliver what New Zealanders expect.

Similar challenges face health systems internationally.

The Ministry recommends that New Zealanders, their communities, businesses, government and the health and disability support sector are all involved in health and in the inclusion of people with disabilities. Increased and aligned action is needed across New Zealand’s health and disability sector, wider government and communities to make possible continued progress towards better health, reduced inequalities, better participation and independence, and trust and security in the system.

The Ministry’s recommendations to gear up our health and disability support system for increased and aligned action across all of New Zealand are to:

strengthen functionality and performance management of the sector so activity is fully aligned to outcomes
invest in critical capability development that will improve effectiveness and productivity
increase opportunities to recognise and reward improvements so the wider system and communities can benefit from their spread and adaptation
ensure a long-term planning horizon, with at least a three to four year funding stream to give baseline certainty for service planning
provide stability in overall settings and structures for the health and disability support system, allowing evolution and further development that supports better health, reduced inequalities, better participation and independence and trust and security.

New Zealand Health and Disability Support Sector: the Organisations describes the roles, functions and accountabilities of organisations in the health and disability support sector.

It describes the major formal organisations of the New Zealand health and disability sector and the statutory duties of the Minister of Health in respect of these organisations. It describes international agreements and contacts that impact on the sector and the Minister’s responsibilities, which include providing strategic oversight to the sector, exercising powers and responsibilities with respect to DHBs and Crown entities, and making appointments to DHBs, Crown entities, ministerial committees and professional and regulatory bodies.