DHBs need closer monitoring: report

A report prepared for the Government recommends a national agency is formed to monitor the country's 21 district health boards.

The Ministerial Review Group's report said the national health board would control the funding for national services that DHBs provide.

The group said the cost of public healthcare would double in the next 20 years and was growing faster than the country's earnings.

Health Minister Tony Ryall said the report, titled "Meeting the Challenge", made 170 recommendations on how to reduce bureaucracy, improve frontline health services, and improve value in the public health and disability sector.

The group proposed consolidating back office functions across the DHBs to harness the power of bulk purchasing and proposed reducing the number of committees that advised the Ministry of Health from 157 to 54.

Mr Ryall said the recommendations required careful consideration.

"The Government is not interested in supporting any recommendations that increase bureaucracy or don't improve patient service."

It was not obliged to accept the report's recommendations, he said.

Cabinet would consider the report over the next couple of months and feedback from the public and the health sector was welcomed.

- NZPA