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Iwi at the top of the South Island are proposing a new health framework that gives them more say into how health and welfare resources are used.
Ra Hippolite the chair of Te Taumata Hauora ō Te Aroha, says there has been extensive consultation with Maori and the Nelson-Marlborough District Health Board.
Priority services identified by the community include diabetes, cardiovascular health, asthma, cancer, tamariki ora and mental health.
Under the model being put to the DHB, a single contract holder will coordinate activities for the seven Māori service providers in the coalition.
Mr Hippolite says it represents a change in thinking.
"Having targets of numbers is not the ideal way to go with our whānau. We're looking at outcomes, are the whānau having a better quality of life, that would be our major goal," he says.
Mr Hippolite says a critical part of the new model is that it is run within a whānau ora model with access to navigators or social workers, and access to social services is as important as access to health organisations.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd
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