8 JULY
NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
1957

Notice to the Southern Regional Health Authority Under Section 8 (1) of the Health and Disability Services Act 1993 of the Crown’s Objectives in Relation to Health and Disability Services and Other Matters

Pursuant to section 8 (1) of the Health and Disability Services Act 1993, the Minister of Health hereby gives written notice to the Southern Regional Health Authority of the Crown’s objectives in relation to the following matters:

(a) The health status of the communities served by the Southern Regional Health Authority:

(b) The health services or disability services, or both, to be purchased by the Southern Regional Health Authority:

(c) The terms of access to those services; and the assessment and review procedures to be used in determining access to those services or such of those services as are specified in this Notice:

(d) The standard of those services:

(e) The special needs of Maori and other particular communities or people for those services.

Part I: Medium Term Objectives

(i) The Crown has developed a set of medium term objectives for health and disability services which will help the Government and all those working in the health sector to keep New Zealanders healthy, independent, or supported to maintain their independence, and in doing this, to use resources to their best advantage.

(ii) The Crown’s medium term objectives are to:

(a) Improve the access of New Zealanders to health and disability services and to provide affordable access to health and disability services;

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

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

(d) Break down barriers between public and private providers of health and disability services, including voluntary and charitable organisations;

(e) Break down barriers between primary and secondary health services;

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

(g) Direct Government assistance to those who are least able to make provision for themselves;

(h) Recognise the importance of public health initiatives in preventing illness and injury;

(i) Recognise the needs and importance of family and non-professional care-givers and voluntary agencies;

(j) Widen the choice of health and disability services, and providers of such services, available to consumers;

(k) Increase the sensitivity of the health and disability support systems to the changing needs of people in New Zealand;

(l) Provide incentives to promote rehabilitation;

(m) Ensure changes are implemented in a way that minimises disruption to the lives of people with health problems or disabilities, and their care-givers; and

(n) Achieve the above objectives within available funding and without exposing taxpayers to greater burdens in the future.

(iii) To assist meeting these medium term objectives, the Crown intends to:

(a) Ensure fair funding of regional health authorities ("RHAs") relative to their populations by moving to equitable funding for personal health services between 1994/1995 and 1996/1997;

(b) Integrate funding for primary and secondary health services;

(c) Encourage the development of better specifications of the health and disability services purchased and provided;

(d) Recognise the importance of public health initiatives; and

(e) Encourage co-operation between the Public Health Commission and the RHAs in the purchase of services promoting the public health, particularly in relation to immunisation and the prevention of:

• cot death;
• melanoma;
• child hearing loss;
• tobacco smoking in pregnancy; and
• cervical cancer.

Part II: Objectives for the Financial Year to 30 June 1994

(i) The Crown’s objectives for the financial year to 30 June 1994 (the "Funding Period") have been developed across areas that deal with the health status of people who are eligible for health and disability services purchased or to be purchased by the Southern Regional Health Authority ("Eligible People"), the health and disability services purchased or to be purchased, the terms of access by Eligible People to those services, the standards of those services, and the special needs of Maori and other communities or people in the region for which the Southern Regional Health Authority is responsible.

(ii) The Crown’s objectives for the Funding Period are:

Health Status

(a) That, as far as possible having regard to the transitional year, the particular socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the region for which the Southern Regional Health Authority is responsible, and related health status concerns, are taken into account in the purchase of health and disability services for Eligible People.

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

The socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the region for which the Southern Regional Health Authority is responsible are:

(i) A lower proportion of infants and children (under 15), and a higher proportion of elderly (aged 60–74) and the very old (75 plus) compared with other regions. Some small towns have a very high proportion of elderly;

(ii) Pockets of social disadvantage linked to poor health status, including in some city suburbs, the West Coast generally and some small towns;

(iii) Overall low concentrations of Maori ranging from 4% in Otago to 8% in the Southland area;

(iv) Significantly low proportions of the national Pacific Island population ranging from 0.1% in Otago to 3.1% in Canterbury; and

(v) A large geographical area with 27% of the population spread thinly across minor urban areas, small towns and rural districts.

Some of the major concerns about health status and health and disability services for the Southern Regional Health Authority are:

(i) The particular vulnerability of lower socio-economic groups to most health problems including: cot death, adolescent suicide, cancer, road accidents among young men, deaths from stroke, heart disease and respiratory diseases;

(ii) General practice services are unevenly spread