November 03, 2021
Pae Ora good start for health overhaul
Māori are being urged to have their say on what will be the biggest shake up of the health sector in a generation – and which has the potential to deliver the sorts of changes Māori have been pleading for.
Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Bill had its first reading last week and was sent to a special select committee that will spend the next six months fine tuning it.
The bill will replace the 20 district health boards a new national body, Health New Zealand, as well as a Māori Health Authority to work alongside it.
Associate Health Minister for Māori Health Peeni Henare says the Covid pandemic has been a lesson in how the system is not working, with an inconsistent response across DHBs.
“With the establishment of the Māori Health Authority, Health New Zealand amongst others, what we are setting out to do here is push the care back into our communities and into our whānau. DHBs generally focus on their hospital services, but what we need to do is change the way primary health care looks in this country. The Pae Ora Bill is a really good start,” he says.