Ministry goals put pressure on busy staff

Health Hawke's Bay chief executive Liz Stockley

Government health targets may not equate to better health outcomes, Health Hawke's Bay chief executive Liz Stockley says.

Despite this, the only government target not met by the region's Primary Health Organisation (PHO) was Better Help for Smokers to Quit, with the others being Increased Immunisation and More Heart and Diabetes Checks.

In the quarter to September, Health Hawke's Bay fell short of the smoking target along with 29 of the nation's 36 PHOs.

The target was 90 per cent of smokers enrolled with a PHO to be offered help to quit in the past 15 months. Health Hawke's Bay recorded 81 per cent.

We are not actually measuring how many people are smoking. You can miss the target and miss the point.

Liz Stockley, Health Hawke's Bay chief executiv

Ms Stockley said it was not possible for primary-care givers to prioritise ministry-imposed health targets.

"They just cannot do it. They are overworked in their day jobs and they keep adding to their tasks," she said.

"When somebody goes into a general practice to see a nurse or a doctor they generally don't go in to talk about smoking - it would be fantastic if they did - they go in because they have something else that needs to be dealt with. That needs to be the focus for the practitioner on the day."

She said challenges in healthcare weren't always reflected by targets.

"There is a huge challenge in Hawke's Bay with young Maori women smoking. The problem for me is the target we are measuring - the support we are giving. We are not actually measuring how many people are smoking. You can miss the target and miss the point."

At today's Hawke's Bay District Health Board meeting the board will be asked to endorse a Regional Tobacco Strategy for the government's goal of reducing smoking to less than 5 per cent of the population by 2025.

Last year's national census showed 18 per cent of Hawke's Bay residents were regular smokers, above the national average of 15 per cent. The Hawke's Bay Maori smoking rate was 36 per cent, with Maori women aged 20 to 29 recording a 49 per cent smoking rate.