A co-chair of the Māori Health Authority says there is an appetite for change in the health system.
Tipa Mahuta told Radio Waatea talkback host Merepeka Raukawa-Tait Māori communities have been underserved for decades in health, and it will take time to win their trust.
She says the authority will encourage the development of iwi partnership boards to drive change at a local level, work closely with the new Health New Zealand which takes over from district health boards, as well as make sure the Health Ministry starts taking Māori needs into account.
“(If) provision of health isn’t meeting our equity and tiriti outcomes then we change the provider or we change the contract, that’s as simple as it’s going to get going into the future, so that those outcomes are visible, that we can hold them accountable not only as the Māori Health Authority but in partnership with our (iwi partnership boards) as well,” she says.
Ms Mahuta says the Māori Health Authority is looking for pockets of Māori innovation and how those initiatives can be rolled out more widely.
