27 February 2003 Media Statement

Collaborative nursing innovations awarded

Health Minister Annette King today announced 11 innovative primary health care nursing initiatives that will receive $7.1 million in funding over the next three years.

Ms King said the 11 successful initiatives come from throughout the country and ranged from a West Coast neighbourhood nursing scheme in Reefton to a
concept to better utilise Plunket and public health nurses in Taranaki.

"All are excellent examples of how primary health care nurses can collaborate and work more effectively to address community health needs in areas like child, youth, mental, Maori and Pacific health.”

Ms King said the concepts were narrowed down from 139 entries, and had to best represent teamwork in primary health care settings. The $7.1 million Primary Health Care Nursing Innovations Funding is part of $400 million of new money to begin implementing the Primary Health Care Strategy over the next three years.

"We have an amazing resource of primary health care nursing in this country, but it's a fragmented sector and at times that has made it difficult for nurses to deliver direct care to their community.

"The concepts pull together resources to deliver early intervention and better treatment and care. For example, Reefton's Neigbourhood Nurses team offers expertise in public health, Maori health and disease state management without any one nurse practising exclusively in one area of responsibility."

Ms King said the Government has made a strong commitment to supporting primary health care nursing. Last month 183 nurses benefited from an $850,000 Government postgraduate scholarship fund, and another round of applications for scholarships is likely this year.

"The 11 applicants applied for more than $7.1 million between them, so they are not all getting everything they asked for, of course. But the Ministry has allocated the available funding in the fairest possible way, and I am sure the successful providers will make a real difference to primary health care in New Zealand."

ENDS

Questions and Answers

Who are the successful applicants?
Northland DHB - Collective of Health Providers in Northland/Kaipara Care Inc MidCentral DHB - Combined Primary Health Care Nurses Group
Taranaki DHB - First Health Taranaki & Royal NZ Plunket Society
Auckland DHB - Kaupapa Maori Primary Health Nursing Service
Hutt Valley DHB - Hutt Valley Youth Health Service
Lakes DHB - Health Reporoa Incorporated
Tairawhiti DHB - Tairawhiti District Health Process
Lakes DHB - Tuwharetoa Health Services Ltd
West Coast DHB - Neighbourhood Nurses in Reefton
Wairarapa DHB - Wairarapa Primary Health Nurses Group
Counties Manukau DHB Primary Health Sector Nursing Reference Group

What is a primary health care nurse?
Registered nurses with expertise in primary health care practice. Primary health care nurses work autonomously and collaboratively to promote, improve, maintain and restore health. Primary health care nursing encompasses population health, health promotion, disease prevention, first point of contact care and disease management across the lifespan. Partnership with people - individuals, whanau, communities and populations, to achieve the shared goal of health for all - is central to primary health care nursing.

How many primary health care nurses work in New Zealand?
In 2001, 7617 registered nurses said in their response to the Nursing Council's workforce survey that their type of work or employment setting could include primary health care.

How much money is available in the nursing innovation funding?
The total is $8.1 million (GST inclusive). Funding of up to $7.1 million is available for the development of innovative nursing models. The rest of the money will be spent on evaluating the new models and used to support nurses practising in primary health care settings to undertake postgraduate study. This support will also help the development of Primary Health Care nurse practitioners.

What will the funding be used for?
- Support the development of innovative models of primary health nursing practice to deliver on the objectives of the Primary Health Care Strategy
- Allow for new models of nursing practice to develop and reduce current fragmentation and duplication of services
- Assist in the transition of primary health care delivery to Primary Health Organisations.

Who applied for the funding?
Registrations of interest were invited from a variety of organisations and providers. This involved joint arrangements across providers, including
Primary Health Organisations, non-government organisations (NGOs), academic institutions, DHB provider arms, Independent Practice Associations (IPAs).
What general criteria had to be demonstrated by applicants?
They must have shown how they would:
- Help in the delivery of the Primary Health Care Strategy
- Work within a Primary Health Organisation environment
- Deliver on the primary health care nursing framework
- Develop a model that reflects the service priority areas of the DHB or provider with regard to primary health care
- Support and consult with key stakeholders from different service groups affected by the model
- Support and utilise effectively nursing leadership
- Enhance collaboration between nurses and other health professionals
- Enable the more effective use of existing primary health care nurses by reducing fragmentation and duplication
- Involve nurses with knowledge and experience in primary health care nursing
- Enable nurses to be seconded or released from current work settings if necessary to form teams or work on projects, and provide the necessary organisational support.

What did DHBs do in this process?
DHBs needed to support registrations of interest from providers as the providers were likely to require reconfiguration or development of services which the DHB may be directly providing or funding via contractual arrangement.

ENDS

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