West Coast Māori Health Plan approved

13 September 2016
West Coast Māori Health Plan approved

The West Coast health system is doing well in its planning and implementation for Māori health, the Ministry of Health has said in approving the area’s Māori Health Plan.

In a letter to the DHB Chief Executive David Meates and Board Chair Peter Ballantyne, the Ministry has applauded the DHB particularly for exceeding two of the Māori health indicator targets around breast screening and immunisation. The DHB exceeded the target (70%) for Māori women breast screened between March 2015 and March 2016. The West Coast screening rate was 73%.

The DHB also exceeded the target (95%) for immunisation – 100% of eight month-old West Coast Māori babies were fully immunised at March 2016.

“Your DHB has achieved the highest coverage rate across all DHBs,” the Ministry’s letter said.

General Manager Maori Health Gary Coghlan says the plan is collectively owned by all those delivering health services on the West Coast, including Māori health provider Poutini Waiora, the West Coast Primary Health Organisation, and Community and Public Health, along with pharmacies and other health providers.

“The West Coast Māori Health Action Plan maps clear and defined pathways that enable the delivery of accessible and appropriate health services for all Māori who live on Te Tai Poutini. In line with its responsibility the DHB is using this Action Plan to challenge its performance and also that of its providers, in relation to Māori health,” Mr Coghlan says.

“The statistics for Māori health on the Coast paint a sobering picture. We must improve those and be held accountable for doing so.

“Of course we are proud of increasing breast screening for our Māori wahine, and reaching 100% immunisation for our Māori babies. There’s other targets we need to focus on, around reducing the number of Māori smoking, ensuring more Māori are getting heart and diabetes checks, and also making sure Māori are connecting with health services when they have a need.”

Full information on the West Coast DHB’s Māori Health Plan can be found on the West Coast DHB website (www.wcdhb.nz).

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