Maori patients suffer more hospital mistakes: study

Maori appear to receive poorer care than Pakeha in state-funded hospitals, according to a study led by the Prime Minister's husband, Professor Peter Davis.

The study, published yesterday in Britain's Lancet medical journal, found that 14 per cent of Maori hospital admissions were associated with health care mistakes. For the rest of the population, excluding Pacific Islanders, the rate was 11 per cent.

Most of the "adverse events" happened in hospitals, the rest in other health care settings like general practice or rest homes. About 1 per cent were considered severe (causing death or long-term disability) and preventable.

Professor Davis said: "Despite a predominantly publicly-funded hospital system, our findings suggest that hospital care received by Maori is marginally poorer than that received by New Zealand citizens of non-Maori/non-Pacific origin."

The article is based on 6579 patients admitted to 13 hospitals in 1998 and is part of a Lancet series on indigenous peoples.

It noted that Maori experienced substantial disadvantages in health status compared with Pakeha - for example the Maori life expectancy at birth was about 8.5 years lower.

Professor Davis said yesterday the statistical analysis was controlled for differences in the Maori study group, such as greater deprivation and younger age.

The reasons for the ethnic differences on adverse events remained unclear.

He speculated that it might involve younger people tending to have more acute conditions than older people or something to do with younger people's interactions with health workers and how the staff treated them.

Auckland District Health Board chief medical officer Dr David Sage agreed the causes of the higher adverse event rate might involve weaker connections between Maori and the health system, shown in the lower rate of Maori children receiving the meningococcal B vaccine in central Auckland. Nurses Organisation chief executive Geoff Annals, a former hospital manager, said the same weakness was seen both in higher non-attendance rates for appointments, which was linked to poverty, and in a cultural tendency not to question doctors' decisions.

The nursing profession was developing ways of encouraging more Maori into nursing to help cater for Maori needs as it was recognised that was a key way of attuning the system to Maori needs, he said.

About 6 per cent of nurses are Maori although Maori make up about 15 per cent of the population.

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia said the study provided yet more evidence of barriers to Maori receiving appropriate health care and she urged the Government to wake up to "the reality of racism".

Health Minister Pete Hodgson said the findings of Professor Davis were alarming, even though based on 1998 data.

However, later research indicated some progress had been made in reducing the disparities.