Ngāti Rangi welcomes Pae Ora strategies outlined in Government vision for primary healthcare

The Pae Ora Act will enable a reduction in the number of avoidable hospitalisations for Ruapehu residents struggling to access primary healthcare. Photo / Bevan Conley

Ruapehu iwi Ngāti Rangi has welcomed the release of a Cabinet paper that sets out the vision for primary and community healthcare over the next 10 years.

The paper, released by Parliament on Monday, outlines the need for a comprehensive work programme to address issues in primary and community healthcare, including funding, structure, workforce, the prevention and management of chronic conditions, and better enabling Māori to design and deliver whānau-centred primary and community healthcare.

”The Pae Ora Act specifies that the sector should provide opportunities for Māori to exercise decision-making authority on matters of importance to Māori,” Ngāti Rangi pou ārahi [adviser] Helen Leahy said.

“The Cabinet paper endorses system settings that better enable Māori to design and deliver whānau-centred solutions - a vision which we embrace.”

Leahy said the Whanganui District Health Board Health needs assessment report released in 2022 revealed unplanned hospital admissions by Māori were still occurring at a higher rate than non-Māori across all age groups.

Ngāti Rangi pou ārahi Helen Leahy. Photo / Ngati Rangi

“Ambulatory sensitive hospitalisations (ASH) by Māori occurred at a rate 60 per cent higher than non-Māori,” she said.

“Of particular concern to Ngāti Rangi is that South Ruapehu has higher-than-average rates among young tamariki and kaumātua. Unplanned surgical admission rates for Māori are also higher in South Ruapehu.”

Leahy said ASH rates are often thought of as a proxy measure of the effectiveness of access to and quality of primary healthcare.

Avoidable hospitalisations are those admissions involving a medical condition that is preventable or amenable to primary care.

“The DHB report also tells us that inequalities continue in access to healthcare services, with over a quarter of Whanganui’s population unable to get an appointment to see a GP within 24 hours, compared to under 20 per cent across the New Zealand population,” said Leahy.

“We know that cost has an impact on being unable to fill a prescription or being unable to visit a GP, as does geographic location.”

Leahy said the response to the Covid-19 pandemic response had shown the effectiveness of Māori mobilising a “by Māori, for Māori approach”.

“The Māori population is proportionately higher in the South Ruapehu, being 43.5 per cent; it makes sense to let Māori determine the solutions that reflect their needs and aspirations.

“Ngāti Rangi is dedicated to honouring the outcomes of consultation undertaken over the last few years focusing on Ruapehu wellness. Our intentions are to design an innovative model of care informed by the needs and aspirations of our community for a better way of working together, where whānau are at the centre.”

Leahy said Ngāti Rangi supported the direction laid out for Manatū Hauora, Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora to develop a primary and community healthcare work programme that was whānau-centered and fit for purpose.

“We celebrate the intention of Pae Ora: whānau who can flourish and thrive in their communities – living long, fulfilling lives in good health, and who are supported to maintain their health and wellbeing.”