Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare. Photo / Andrew Warner
Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare. Photo / Andrew Warner
A high-level report on the progress of a report on Te Aka Whai Ora says the Māori health authority underspent by about $66 million in its first financial year, meaning the anticipated boost in services for Māori will not be realised.
The report, by the Hauora Māori Advisory Committeechaired by Waikato Tainui leader Parekawhia McLean, says commissioning activity and Māori provider service provision is tracking behind Government commitments.
While it had achieved a number of important milestones, its inability to put in place the necessary level of capability and capacity to progress its key functions had hampered performance.
In its haste to transfer Māori staff and teams from the former district health boards which are now under the umbrella of Te Whatu Ora, it had neglected to bring over staff with necessary skills and experience in areas like commissioning and contract management.
Good progress has been made on developing the interim Hauora Māori Strategy, but the process had created tension with Health Ministry staff.
Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare says the deeply entrenched disparities for Māori in the health system are decades in the making and will take more than a year to fix.
