Healthcare in New Zealand
Essay one: Choose a New Zealand social policy issue (I suggest one covered in the course). Critically evaluate how effective New Zealand’s stance has been. Make sure you use empirical resources (e.g. statistics, existing research) and sustained theoretical reflection to substantiate your conclusion.
A global social policy issue is that of healthcare and it’s distribution. The structure of the New Zealand health and disability sector is currently a mixed public-private system by which the Minister of Health in conjunction with the government develops policy, supported by the Ministry and various ministerial advisory committees (Ministry of Health, 2011). Most of the day to day running and business of the health system, and around three quarters of the funding is administered by district health boards (DHBs), which plan, manage, provide and purchase health services for the population of their district (Ministry of Health, 2011). This includes funding for primary care, hospital services, public health services, aged care services, and services provided by other non-governmental health providers including Maori and Pacific providers (Ministry of Health, 2011). This brief overview of the structure of the health system shows that it is structured in a way that healthcare in New Zealand comes from a range of different corporations and distributors, both publicly and privately funded. This also infers that in order to be functional, it must be a very interactive system, in order to achieve the New Zealand Health Strategy framework for delivering health services, and achieves this through health distribution at a local and national level. This framework includes goals such as good health and well-being for all New Zealanders throughout their lives, timely and equitable access for all New Zealanders to a comprehensive range of health and disability services regardless of ability to pay, and an improvement in health status of those currently disadvantaged (Cheyne, O’Brien
A global social policy issue is that of healthcare and it’s distribution. The structure of the New Zealand health and disability sector is currently a mixed public-private system by which the Minister of Health in conjunction with the government develops policy, supported by the Ministry and various ministerial advisory committees (Ministry of Health, 2011). Most of the day to day running and business of the health system, and around three quarters of the funding is administered by district health boards (DHBs), which plan, manage, provide and purchase health services for the population of their district (Ministry of Health, 2011). This includes funding for primary care, hospital services, public health services, aged care services, and services provided by other non-governmental health providers including Maori and Pacific providers (Ministry of Health, 2011). This brief overview of the structure of the health system shows that it is structured in a way that healthcare in New Zealand comes from a range of different corporations and distributors, both publicly and privately funded. This also infers that in order to be functional, it must be a very interactive system, in order to achieve the New Zealand Health Strategy framework for delivering health services, and achieves this through health distribution at a local and national level. This framework includes goals such as good health and well-being for all New Zealanders throughout their lives, timely and equitable access for all New Zealanders to a comprehensive range of health and disability services regardless of ability to pay, and an improvement in health status of those currently disadvantaged (Cheyne, O’Brien
References: Barnett, R & P 2004, ‘Primary Health Care in New Zealand: Problems and Policy Approaches’, Social Policy Journal of New Zealand, Issue 21. pp. 49 – 63 Cheyne, C, O 'Brien, M and Belgrave, M 2005, Social Policy in Aotearoa: A Critical Introduction, Auckland Oxford University Press. Hansen, M, Bjerring L, Delaney, R 2012, Where Are My Taxes. Retrieved 15 of May 2013 from http://www.wheresmytaxes.co.nz Health Funds Association of New Zealand 2004, The Long Term Funding of New Zealand Healthcare. Retrieved 19 of May 2013 from http://www.healthfunds.org.nz/Publications.asp Ministry of Health 2011, Overview of the Health System. Retrieved 13 of May 2013 from http://www.health.govt.nz/new-zealand-health-system/overview-health-system Ministry of Health 2012, Health Expenditure Trends in New Zealand 2000–2010. Wellington: Ministry of Health. New Zealand’s Accident Compensation Corporation 2012, Am I Covered? Retrieved 17 of May 2013 from http://www.acc.co.nz/making-a-claim/am-i-covered/index.htm Smith, J 2009, Critical analysis of the implementation of the Primary Health Care Strategy implementation and framing of issues for the next phase. Retrieved 13 of May 2013 from http://www.moh.govt.nz/notebook/nbbooks.nsf/0/b54bc19213f39848cc25764900 7b0266/$FILE/critical-analysis-primary-health-care-strategy-sept09.pdf Statistics New Zealand 2013, New Zealand Period Life Tables: 2010–12. Retrieved 19 of May 2013 from http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/health/life_expectancy/nz-period-life- tables-info-releases.aspx