On this page you'll find information outlining the system achievements for public health care as part of the health system reform implementation roadmap.
Horizon 1 – Financial year 2022-2024
- National Public health programmes fully defined
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Responsible organisation: Te Whatu Ora
Context
Immunisation is one of the most effective public health measures used all over the world to protect populations from diseases. Immunisation rates for Māori and Pacific peoples need to be lifted and the Aotearoa Immunisation Register in place to provide an accurate understanding of population immunisation coverage rates, reduce digital barriers and support the health sector to deliver better immunisation services and give New Zealanders a way to record and track immunisations they have received and are entitled to.
What has been achieved
National immunisation priority programme improvements will be implemented, including lifting immunisation rates for Māori and Pacific. Overall improvements to general immunisation along with the implementation of Aotearoa Immunisation Register .
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- Multi agency pandemic preparedness measures implemented
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Responsible organisation: Manatū Hauora
Context
COVID-19 has highlighted that the health system’s ability to respond to pandemics is underdeveloped. New Zealand needs to review its own preparedness and also work with other countries to identify how we can strengthen the global health system to make sure the world does not face a health emergency of this magnitude again.
What has been achieved
Pandemic preparedness measures will be developed across multiple agencies. These measures will cover managed isolation and quarantine, health at the border, and support international pandemic preparedness.
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Strengthening global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response
- Public health intelligence operating model & system implemented
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Responsible organisation: Manatū Hauora
Context
It is essential that robust population health information, data and intelligence is unified across the health system to strengthen Aotearoa's knowledge and surveillance activity and to support effective public health activity.
What has been achieved
A public health intelligence system will be implemented for the health system. This would include the development and implementation of a national surveillance strategy to manage data to facilitate the prevention and control of disease and an intelligence model that will also use the data to inform actions that improve health outcomes for New Zealanders.
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Te Pou Hauora Tūmatanui – the Public Health Agency | Ministry of Health NZ
- National breast, cervical and bowel screening improvements implemented
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Responsible organisation: Te Whatu Ora
Context
Adopting population health approaches that prevent, reduce, or delay the onset of health conditions is a way to protect and promote people’s health and wellbeing. Public health interventions such as screening can have cost-effectiveness ratios better than or equivalent to those of healthcare services. A more equitable approach is needed to improve access to screening and removing barriers to primary care to improve early detection.
What has been achieved
New models for breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening will be implemented, which will include the rollout of the redesigned cervical screening programme ( including HPV Primary Screening) and progress on the BreastScreen Aotearoa review recommendations, as well as the implementation of the bowel screening model.
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Cervical
- $7.3 million in funding to provide free cervical screening services for key groups announced - Te Whatu Ora
- Cervical screening - Time to Screen
Breast screening:
Bowel screening
- Emergency Management operating model implemented
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Responsible organisation: Manatū Hauora
Context
A national emergency often affects access to health care services and the health care system’s ability to respond to the public’s health needs. An emergency management model is needed to enable the system to respond to and recover from emergency events.
What has been achieved
A health emergency management operating model will be implemented for Aotearoa. The implemented emergency management system will be able to detect, mitigate, prevent, respond to, and recover from the impacts of emergency events on the provision of equitable health and wellbeing for New Zealanders.
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Achieved 2022-23
- National approaches to immunisation and prevention (screening) defined
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Responsible organisation: Te Whatu Ora
Context
Immunisation: Childhood immunisation rates in Aotearoa have fallen to critical levels: the 6-month completed immunisation rates for tamariki Māori in South Auckland are at 34%. This leaves tamariki at risk of lethal, costly, and vaccine-preventable and epidemic disease, and the health system in Aotearoa at risk of significant burden.
Screening: The health sector should protect and promote people’s health and wellbeing, including by adopting population health approaches that prevent, reduce, or delay the onset of health needs. Public health interventions such as screening can have cost-effectiveness ratios better than or equivalent to those of healthcare services.
What has been achieved
National improvement programmes have been developed for immunisation and screening.
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Horizon 2 – Financial year 2024-2027
- National bowel screening settings for Māori and Pacific implemented
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Responsible organisation: Te Whatu Ora
Context
Bowel screening can help save lives by detecting bowel cancer at an early stage when it can often be successfully treated. This is important as there may be no warning signs that bowel cancer is developing. The current National Bowel Screening Programme is available for people aged 60-74 years. The starting age for screening Māori and Pacific peoples is being lowered because a higher proportion of bowel cancer occurs in these groups before reaching 60, compared with others. In time, Māori and Pacific people throughout the country will have the lower starting age.
What has been achieved
National bowel screening for Māori and Pacific peoples will be extended from the current eligibility of 60-74 lowered to 50-74 years. This will be implemented across the country through a phased national rollout, with National bowel screening age extension implemented. This is already underway in Waikato and Tairawhiti
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