Report: Services for People w Chronic Conditions

Report Focuses on Health Services for People With Chronic Conditions
20 February 2007

A report launched today by the National Health Committee looks at ways better health services and support can be offered to people with chronic conditions. Common chronic conditions include arthritis, asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression and other mental illnesses.

Meeting the needs of people with chronic conditions/Hāpai te whānua mo aka ake tonu is a National Health Committee (NHC) report that sets out ways government agencies, health providers and community groups can work together to provide effective services for people with chronic conditions.

NHC spokesperson Api Talemaitoga said the report’s recommendations aimed to help people with chronic conditions manage their health and wellbeing in the community, have confidence in the medical advice they received and in the health system itself, and access quality, well-coordinated health care.

Part of the NHC project was to speak with people who had chronic conditions. The voices of these people are included in the report as case studies. The experiences of these people raised important systemic issues for health and other sectors.

“People with chronic conditions use a broad range of services repeatedly, and often frequently, throughout their lives. All New Zealanders are affected by chronic conditions – whether as carers for family and whānau, taxpayers, health professionals or managing their own chronic condition.

“This report sets out the need for a comprehensive and focused approach to addressing the needs of people with chronic conditions in New Zealand. By getting it right for people with chronic conditions, we can get it right for everyone.” For example, improvements to primary care benefit everyone, especially those who use these services more often.

Māori, Pacific peoples and people living in poverty are more likely to have chronic conditions. “More work needs to be done to improve health outcomes through culturally-appropriate service design and delivery, and the use of equity tools in assessment and referral processes.

“We also need to ensure coordination and consistent processes, to improve management of chronic conditions. Coordination can lead to a wider range of services being offered to patients and more promptly, improved care planning, and decreased patient risk. Part of this picture is organisations working more closely together. For example, when mental and physical health organisations work together, they can coordinate services around the strong link between depression and chronic conditions.”

Other report recommendations include:

- the development and implementation of a chronic conditions framework within each district health board covering key aspects known to benefit people with chronic conditions

- whole district planning processes for community engagement to ensure planning is sustainable and makes effective use of resources

- a contact person in each DHB to address issues that arise for people with chronic conditions when they have difficulty accessing health services due to the way the system is set up

- specific recommendations for assessment and treatment of depression and pain and improvements in referrals to rehabilitation and palliative care for people with chronic conditions

A full copy of the report will be available on the National Health Committee website from 6.30pm, 20 February: www.nhc.govt.nz.

ENDS

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