Ethnic health gap narrows, says report

Health reports show that inequalities between ethnic groups in the rate of suicide, smoking and infant deaths are reducing.

The Health Ministry annual report, released yesterday with the annual Health and Independence Report, says initiatives such as low-cost access to primary health care and the meningococcal B immunisation programme are expected to further reduce health disparities.

By September 22, more than 2.5 million doses of the meningococcal vaccine had been given.

More than 960,000 children had been given the vaccine, of whom more than 600,000 had completed the three-vaccine schedule.

The annual report is the ministry's key accountability document, and the Health and Independence Report is director-general Karen Poutasi's report on the state of public health.

It focuses on the progress the health and disability system is making toward strategic goals.

Key findings include:

* The Government spent on average $1959 per person on health in the 2003/04 year;

* The number of patients waiting longer than six months for their first specialist assessment has decreased slightly;

* Smoking has dropped significantly over the past five years;

* Last year 59 per cent of diabetics enrolled in the national Get Checked programme, up from 33 per cent in 2001.

The report says health inequalities do persist, affecting mostly Maori and Pacific people and those economically disadvantaged.

The suicide rate in 2002 of 10.7 per 100,000 is the lowest since 1985, but the rate continues to be higher for Maori than non-Maori.

In 1996 Maori had 11.5 deaths per 1000 live births compared with 7.1 for the total population.

Last year the general rate had fallen to 5.6, with 7.2 for Maori and 7.1 for Pacific people.

- NZPA