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(vii) Processes for dealing with consumer complaints;

(viii) Processes for dealing with ethical issues including those relating to research and to the development of new technology; and

(ix) A statement on purchasing culturally appropriate health and disability services.

Special Needs

(g) That particular consideration is given to the needs of Maori.

The following items are to be noted in relation to this objective:

The Northern Regional Health Authority should seek to improve the health status of Maori, as far as reasonably possible in the transitional year, so that in the future they will have the same opportunity to enjoy the same level of health as non-Maori. To enable this to happen the Northern Regional Health Authority should have regard to the Crown’s policy direction for Maori expressed in the document “Whaia te ora mo te iwi”, and in particular to:

(i) Recognise Maori aspirations and structures, and the desire of Maori to take greater responsibility for some of their own health care;

(ii) Purchase services and encourage initiatives that promote better health for Maori;

(iii) Allocate resources to take account of Maori health needs;

(iv) Encourage greater participation of Maori in the development of health solutions and be aware of successful Maori health service delivery models;

(v) Develop culturally appropriate practices and procedures for delivery of health and disability services to Maori; and

(vi) Encourage greater participation of Maori at all levels of the health and disability support sector.

(h) That particular consideration is given to groups with special needs.

The following items are to be noted in relation to this objective:

People with Low Health Status

Strategies to improve access to health and disability services for Eligible People with lower health status, including Pacific Island communities, should be developed in the transitional year.

People with Disabilities—Support for Independence

As far as reasonably possible in the transitional year, Eligible People with disabilities and their families should:

(i) Have improved access to assessment and rehabilitative disability services;

(ii) Have access to disability services which are better co-ordinated and more flexible;

(iii) Have access to disability services which are culturally appropriate for their needs; and

(iv) Continue to have access to the disability services they are receiving as at 30 June 1993 until 30 June 1996 (except if the service is home help, in which case the option is until 30 June 1994 or the review date), unless that person is reassessed and agrees to a different service arrangement.

There should be greater emphasis on:

(v) Supporting Eligible People with disabilities to allow them to be as independent as possible, close to their homes, and integrated into their communities;

(vi) Appropriate management of deinstitutionalisation; and

(vii) The use of protocols for assessing the support needs of Eligible People with disabilities. (An assessment protocol for Eligible People with age-related disabilities will be introduced before 1 July 1993).

Part III: Meaning of Terms Used in this Notice

Terms defined in the Health and Disability Services Act 1993, and used in this Notice shall have the same meaning in this Notice unless the context requires otherwise.

Dated at Wellington this 25th day of June 1993.

W. F. BIRCH, Minister of Health.

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Notice to the Public Health Commission Under Section 8 (2) of the Health and Disability Services Act 1993 of the Crown’s Objectives in Relation to Public Health

Pursuant to section 8 (2) of the Health and Disability Services Act 1993, the Minister of Health hereby gives written notice to the Public Health Commission of the Crown’s objectives in relation to public health.

Part I: Background

(i) Public health services are services concerned with populations rather than with individuals. Public health services focus on health promotion and disease prevention and are often directed at health hazards arising from the social, economic, and physical environment.

(ii) The Public Health Commission has been established as a purchaser of public health services and to advise the Crown on public health issues and priorities. This will allow public health services to be better co-ordinated and public health resources used more effectively.

(iii) The Public Health Commission is responsible for:

(a) Monitoring and analysing the state of the public health;

(b) Advising the Minister on public health goals and objectives relating to environmental health, nutrition and food, prevention and control of communicable diseases, prevention and control of other major public health problems and, the public health needs of special groups;

(c) Planning and co-ordinating public health programmes to achieve progress on these goals and objectives; and

(d) Purchasing public health services.

(iv) The Ministry of Health continues to be responsible for purchasing regulatory public health services, with the Public Health Commission purchasing, monitoring, and managing on behalf of the Minister of Health in the financial year to 30 June 1994, the delivery of regulatory public health services to the Ministry of Health by various providers of public health services throughout the country.

Part II: Medium Term Objectives

The Crown’s medium term objectives in relation to public health are to:

(a) Improve and protect the public health;

(b) Improve the quality and effectiveness of public health services;

(c) Encourage efficiency, flexibility, and innovation in the delivery of public health services;

(d) Recognise the importance of the public health effort in preventing illness and injury;

(e) Ensure a high standard of protection from public health risks for New Zealanders;

(f) Seek to improve Maori health status so that Maori will have the same opportunity to enjoy at least the same level of health as non-Maori;

(g) Improve the co-ordination of population based health services;

(h) Improve the co-ordination between public health services and personal health services;