South Seas Healthcare Applauds Bold New Approach to Improve Health Outcomes
A new plan under the Government’s health reforms that will give local communities a greater voice in how health services are delivered to their people has been welcomed by South Seas Healthcare.
South Seas and the South Auckland village of providers have been selected as one of nine locality prototypes which will be charged with delivering long term plans as to how health services will be delivered to their communities of interest.
The locality prototype will cover the Ōtara-Papatoetoe area and will be co-led by the South Seas Healthcare Trust and mana whenua, Ngāti Tamaoho and Ngāi Tai. The announcement was made by Health Minister Andrew Little today. See here.
“This is the start of our communities taking control of how services need to be delivered in order for us to really make a difference to the health and well being of our people,” said Dr Teuila Percival, Chair of South Seas Healthcare.
“It’s a seismic shift that is well overdue.
“The top-down approach under the current system has never delivered the solutions our communities needed to achieve lasting improvements to their health and wellbeing.
“Here in South Auckland we are dealing with communities which have intergenerational inequities in health, education and housing, and where people have felt disconnected from government agencies.
“This new model devolves decision-making power to the community. Their voices will be heard loud and strong. It will enable us to deliver the services they need that are accessible, integrated and appropriate for the many communities we serve.
“We saw this in the way community health providers in South Auckland responded to the COVID-19 delta outbreak. Our providers were able to reach into parts of the community where the traditional health system couldn’t, such as with the Assembly of God cluster. This meant our communities got vaccinated quickly and received the help they needed to isolate safely.
“In simple terms, under the new model it will mean every door our people access to get help will be the right door, no matter what their needs are, from housing to budgeting to mental health. All health and wellbeing providers will be joined up so people get the help they need without having to talk to multiple agencies,” said Dr Percival.
“We thank Health Minister Andrew Little and Associate Health Minister Aupito William Sio for being sensitive to the challenges we face and for their leadership in driving this bold new approach,” said Lemalu Silao Vaisola-Sefo, Chief Executive of South Seas Healthcare. “We also acknowledge the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Development for their support through this process.
“We are pleased to be selected as a prototype locality and are confident we will deliver on its intent to enable our communities to live better lives.”