December 04, 2014
Maori providers up in arms over DHB reviews
Hutt Valley Maori health providers are calling a proposed review of their activities racist and unfair.
The Hutt Valley District Health Board sent out letters to the providers announcing the review and warning their funding contracts could be affected.
But its Maori health service development group chair, Noeline Smiler, told the DHB meeting this morning it was demeaning and institutional racism that only Maori providers are included.
She says the providers feel undervalued and refused to have input on the board's Strategic Plan.
Former DHB member Iris Pahau says the board seems to be making Maori providers accountable for appalling Maori health statistics, despite them getting less than 1 percent of the total DHB spend.
She says there is no similar focus on hospitals and wider community-based services.
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