Health and Disability System Review recommendations

The Federation Board has had the opportunity to discuss the Health and Disability System Review findings whose overarching messages aligns closely with the Federation model.

In advance of the review publication, the Federation published a discussion document calling for the development of Community Health and Wellbeing Networks.

During the process of developing the Federation model, members agreed a set of characteristics and principles upon which to base Community Health and Wellbeing Networks which have now been fully reflected in the Review’s proposal to implement local networks of services to keep people well.

The alignment between these two documents is clear. Attachment 1 provides a summary of the recommendations of both documents in the networked locality space.

The Review particularly aligns with our publication on the priorities of: engaging with local communities; Māori health and equity; protocols and application program interfaces to support transfer of information and interoperability between provider systems; informatics to support population health improvement; and the need to strengthen rural services.

“The diverse makeup of the Federation board and its members has enabled us to identify inequalities in access and provision of care that cuts across organisational and professional boundaries,” says Steve Chadwick - Federation Chair.

The Federation also welcomes the Review’s focus on the issue of equitable outcomes for Māori and the need to meaningfully deliver on the Principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

“A number of districts within Aotearoa have already begun implementing this approach, within existing resource, cultural and structural constraints. Our members who have been involved in these programmes tell us how difficult it is to build collaboration between independent organisations without the enabling policy and support frameworks being in place. We are hopeful that as implementation plans become clearer the appropriate environment to overcome these constraints will be fostered as part of a structured change management programme. We are looking to influence the implementation to ensure this as a priority,” says Chadwick.

The following table presents the alignment between the Federation’s ‘Health and Wellbeing Networks’ with the Localities proposed by the Health and Disability System Review