Hon Mita Ririnui
Associate Minister of Health

15 August 2007 Media Statement

Ministry releases publication containing the latest statistics on the Māori health and disability workforce.

A health profile containing the latest statistics on the number of Māori in the health workforce as well as potential pathways for Māori to enter the health workforce has been released by the Ministry of Health.

He Pa Harakeke: Māori Health Workforce Profile

Associate Health Minister, Mita Ririnui says he is pleased a new report shows there has been an increase in the number of Māori in the health and disability workforce.

Mita Ririnui was commenting on He Pa Harakeke: Māori Health Workforce Profile 2007 just released by the Ministry of Health, which presents the most recent statistical information on Māori in the regulated health careers.

Mita Ririnui says “Building capable and competent Māori health workers is pivotal to improving health outcomes for Māori. The challenge for the sector is to look for opportunities to continue to support Māori into health careers”.

Improvements in the number of Māori have been made across most of the registered occupations including medical practitioners, registered nurses, registered midwives, medical radiation technologists, dietitians and chiropractors.

For example, the number of Māori midwives practising grew from 110 in 2005, to 157 in 2006 and the number of Māori radiation technologists increased from 12 in 2005 to 40 in 2006.

Mita Ririnui says "The careers profiled in the report shows that young Māori who have left secondary school, Māori who are second chance learners as well as Māori who have had careers in other sectors are taking up health as a career option.”

In 2006, the Ministry released Raranga Tupuake: Māori Health Workforce Development Plan, a 10 to 15 year plan for building a competent, capable, skilled and experienced Māori health and disability workforce. A number of workforce development programmes are underway in areas such as breast and cervical cancer screening, Māori public health and tobacco control. In addition, there are sector-wide health workforce programmes such as the Health Workforce Careers Framework, Health Workforce Information Programme and the DHBNZ Future Workforce project. The Ministry of Health and DHBNZ are working to develop a career framework for the health workforce, and have recently released a discussion document for consultation.

ENDS

He Pa Harakeke: Maori Workforce Profile

Questions and Answers

What is the purpose of this publication?
He Pa Harakeke: Māori health workforce profile monitors the progress in increasing the number of Māori in the health and disability workforce. It describes and analyses recent data and provides easy-to-use statistical information. The profile will be repeated every three years to determine whether the number of Māori in the health and disability workforce is increasing.

The profile also acts as a guide to provide potential pathways for Māori wishing to enter the health and disability workforce as well as career advice.
Regulated occupations included in the profile are: medical practitioners, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, psychologists, dentists, occupational therapists, medical radiation technologists, dietitians, podiatrists, medical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technicans and chiropractors.

Who are the main audiences that this report is targeting?
The profile will be used by DHB’s, occupational registration boards, training providers and Māori professional organisations as well as government agencies to monitor the activities in contributing to the further development of the Māori Health workforce.

Career profiles from the Ministry of Health, Career Services and Te Rau Matatini (Māori mental health workforce development organisation) provide examples of potential pathways for Māori who want to enter into health professions.

How can the information in the report be used?
The information in the profile provides a baseline on the number of Māori in the health and disability workforce. The information will contribute to planning how to build a competent and reliable Māori health and disability workforce. It will be used to monitor the recruitment, participation and retention of Māori in the health and disability workforce. The profile will also act as a guide to provide examples of potential pathways for Māori wishing to enter health as a career.

Will this publication be updated in the future?
The profile will be repeated every three years to monitor progress towards increasing the number of Māori in the health and disability workforce. In addition, the New Zealand Health Information Service (NZHIS) will report annually on the number of Māori in regulated health occupations.

Who is responsible for increasing the number of Māori in health and disability workforce?
All parts of the health and disability sector are responsible for increasing the number of Māori in the health and disability workforce. The key players such as the Ministry of Health, District Health Boards, occupational registration boards, Māori professional and occupational organisations need to continue to engage with each other and other sectors to build a reliable and competent Māori health and disability workforce.

Education and training sector organisations such as the Ministry of Education, the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), Career Services, training providers, industry-training organisations (ITOs), universities and wānanga will also play pivotal roles.

How is the health and disability sector working to increase the number of Māori in the health and disability workforce?
The Government and the Ministry of Health have made it a priority to increase the number of health professionals. There are a wide range of workforce activities and plans currently under way across the health and disability sector. Specific examples include: Raranga Tupuake: Māori Health Workforce Development Plan 2006, National Screening Unit’s (NSU) Workforce Development Strategy and Action Plan 2002-2007, Public Health Workforce Development Plan and The DHBNZ Workforce Action Plan. The Ministry of Health and DHBNZ are working to develop a career framework for the health workforce, and have recently released a discussion document for consultation.

Who was involved in writing this publication?
The publication He Pa Harakeke: Māori Health workforce profile was prepared by Te Kete Hauora (Māori Health Directorate), Ministry of Health, in conjunction with Careers Services and Te Rau Matatini.

Where can I get the report from?
The publication is available on the Ministry of Health’s Māori Health Directorate website www.māorihealth.govt.nz. The publication can be downloaded in PDF format or ordered as a hard copy. To obtain hard copies they can be ordered from Wickliffe (moh[at]wickliffe.co.nz or 04 473 3357), please quote HP 4399.

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