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Download AudioThe Health Ministry’s deputy director-general Māori Health says Middlemore Hospital’s emergency department giving out vouchers for people to see local GP’s shows how the system can be innovative and adapt to local conditions.
John Whaanga says South Auckland has high Māori and Pasifika populations that require more health services and feel a greater impact from winter illnesses.
“We have areas where there is quite significant socioeconomic disparity too so in order to make sure we have got a fair system that is able to reach and provide service to everyone we do need to be supporting particularly those who are most disadvantaged by the situation we are in now with the winter illnesses,” he says.
Mr Whaanga says this week just 20 percent of hospital admissions are for Covid while influenza accounts for a massive 50 percent, putting huge pressure on services.
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