Member portal
Member portal
Member portal

The government should address five key priorities to put the health system back on track

October 10, 2024

New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (Inc)
Media Release, Thursday 10 October 2024

For immediate release

After years of denial that a crisis was unfolding, the moment of truth has well and truly arrived. The health system crisis is playing out daily everywhere from emergency departments and GP clinics across the country to the boardroom of Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora. Health professionals are burnt out, and New Zealanders’ faith in the health system is being lost. This is a key issue the government will want to address before the next election. But will it address the underlying systemic issues or just kick the can down the road?

We propose that rather than continuing to kick the can down the road with only minimal investment to address short term resource issues – a choice that equates to spending up on buckets instead of fixing the hole in the roof – the government should make a substantial investment in the health system. The goal would be a fundamental shift from a high-cost, bricks and mortar, medically dominated system towards a system that prioritises a broader, more flexible workforce backed by technology and treatment options that support community-based care, and by decision making that reflects broader economic considerations.

Specifically, we recommend:
  • Funding and resourcing strong community-based healthcare based on a broad regulated and non-regulated workforce with support for upskilling and access to digital tools to assist them to do more, from home-based care to rehabilitation and needs assessment.
  • Stronger focus on the end of the care continuum from hospital discharge processes to community discharge support and aged residential care to address hospital “bed block” – the key driver of long ED waits and increasing demand for investment in hospital capacity.
  • A focus on digital transformation to reduce costly, ineffective and inefficient communication barriers between services as well as between providers and patients, improve the information available to decision makers and support the adoption of technologies that enable remote patient monitoring and care by a broader generalist workforce (including self-care).
  • A social investment approach to health care to support a productive workforce, ensuring that the health system contributes to, as well as being supported by, economic growth.
  • Increased access to medicines, many of which have demonstrated cost-effectiveness and are waiting on Pharmac’s own list of opportunities for investment, to ensure New Zealanders are not kept unwell and unproductive when there are cost-effective medicines that could help them.

For further information, please contact:
Sarah Hogan
Deputy Chief Executive (Wellington) & Principal Economist
021 145 6159 | sarah.hogan@nzier.org.nz 

 

Read the insight here

Previous article
← NZIER’s QSBO shows improved business confidence as interest rates ease - October 2024
A question of trust - NZIER Insight 102

A question of trust - NZIER Insight 102

September 06, 2022 1 min read
The government should be realistic about the primary teacher workforce and provide more specialist support in maths and science

The government should be realistic about the primary teacher workforce and provide more specialist support in maths and science

May 23, 2024 2 min read
The tale of Goldilocks and the three fears (about the minimum wage) - NZIER Insight 96

The tale of Goldilocks and the three fears (about the minimum wage) - NZIER Insight 96

October 06, 2021 2 min read