10 July 2000
Draft Health and Disability Plan Released - Kapiti
THE first draft of the Health and Disability Plan for Kapiti has been released for community and provider comment.
"The plan brings together health status information and suggestions for improvement, and presents recommendations and
planned actions which reflect the priorities of the communities and providers," Project Manager, Dr Fran McGrath said.
"The key focus of this plan is to identify ways to improve health and disability outcomes for people in the Kapiti
District.
Dr McGrath said the greatest concern among people in the Kapiti District was access to publicly funded specialist
outpatient services, provision of integrated emergency services based around a 24 hour Accident and Emergency service at
Kenepuru Hospital, and better services in the Kapiti area.
"The Healthlinks Project team have taken these concerns on board and presented recommendations which will ensure the
needs of the community are met."
The key recommendations relating to the Kapiti District include: improved frequency of outpatient services at
Paraparaumu Hospital, and a
'hospital bus' service to Kenepuru and Wellington Hospitals. There are particular issues for people in Otaki, and the
project's recommendations would give them more choice of where they received their specialist services. provision of A & E services at Kenepuru Hospital, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. increasing the services that are available locally,
particularly for children and the growing population of young people, better birthing facilities on the Coast, Better
integration of services by involving local community and providers, linking health promotion and treatment services, and
integrating disability support and treatment services. a continuing intersectoral partnership to advise funders and
providers and to facilitate co-ordinated action.
Submissions on the draft plans close on July 31. A final plan will be submitted to the Minister of Health by the end of
August.
END
For further information please contact Dr Fran McGrath 04 496 2442 / 021 459 400
Background Information
Recommendations are presented as: Actions Recommended and Actions Planned.
Actions recommended: these are recommendations to the Minister of Health, the Health Funding Authority and District
Health Boards, various providers and other agencies such as the Wellington Regional Council and Porirua City Council.
Actions planned: present proposals that developed during this project, in discussion with community and providers in
Porirua, and they have already been agreed by the organisations involved. These proposals can be seen as a measure of
the impact that the Healthlinks project has already had in bringing together information about health needs, community
priorities and provider proposals and achieving agreement to implement matters that are important in the local area.
END
Draft Health and Disability Plan Released - Porirua
THE first draft of the Health and Disability Plan for Porirua City has been released for community and provider comment.
"The plan brings together health status information and suggestions for improvement, and presents recommendations and
planned actions which reflect the priorities of the communities and providers," Project Manager, Dr Fran McGrath said.
"The key focus of this plan is to identify ways to improve health and disability outcomes for people in Porirua City.
Dr McGrath said the greatest concerns among people in Porirua City related to residents in the eastern and western
suburbs who had poor access to primary care services. This included the high cost of transport, general practitioner
consultations and prescribed medicines, provision of services appropriate for Maori and Pacific Peoples, and local
access to specialist and hospital services.
"The Healthlinks Project team have taken these concerns on board and presented recommendations which will ensure the
needs of the community are met."
The key recommendations related to Porirua City include: that the Minister considers a pilot project for substantially
free General Practitioner consultations and prescribed medicines for everyone holding a community services card. better
information about services. services that are effective for Maori and Pacific Peoples, particularly health promotion and
primary care services. hospital A & E services at Kenepuru Hospital, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. improved access to specialist services by
increasing the services available at Kenepuru Hospital. a greater range of services from Maori providers and Pacific
providers. Provider and workforce development are needed to support this. provision of population-based funding at the
level of Porirua City, and ensuring that people with the greatest needs have access to more effective services
involvement of local community and providers in developing services, by linking health promotion and treatment services,
integrating disability support and treatment services continuing intersectoral action to improve health outcomes, and an
intersectoral partnership to advise funders and providers and to facilitate co-ordinated action.
Submissions on the draft plans close on July 31. A final plan will be submitted to the Minister of Health by the end of
August.
END
For further information please contact Dr Fran McGrath 04 496 2442 / 021 459 400
Background Information
The recommendations are presented as: Actions Recommended and Actions Planned.
Actions recommended: these are recommendations to the Minister of Health, the Health Funding Authority and District
Health Boards, various providers and other agencies such as the Wellington Regional Council and Porirua City Council.
Actions planned: present proposals that developed during this project, in discussion with community and providers in
Porirua, and they have already been agreed by the organisations involved. These proposals can be seen as a measure of
the impact that the Healthlinks project has already had in bringing together information about health needs, community
priorities and provider proposals and achieving agreement to implement matters that are important in the local area.
END