One of the biggest challenges facing the Ardern government is in public health. New Zealand may have escaped the pressures heaped on other health systems by the Covid-19 pandemic but its health service has had its problems, not least those exposed in the first report from Heather Simpson and her team and subsequently in the Simpson-Roche report revealing deficiencies in handling aspects of the response to Covid-19
Both of those reports underlined structural weaknesses within the system, not only in the district health boards, but in the Ministry of Health. To repair them would be a singular challenge for any minister. It is notable the Prime Minister nominated Andrew Little as the one with the know-how to get to grips with those particular headaches.
But even with the skills he has, reforming district health boards will be a severe test for Little. Some of them are under enormous financial stress while others are failing to provide the full range of services in a timely manner. And let’s not forget the government has yet to make significant progress in overcoming the deficiencies it has acknowledged in the country’s mental health services.
Beyond that there are other pressing challenges in health, for example with diabetes. Continue reading “Let’s see what Andrew Little prescribes to remedy structural weaknesses in NZ’s health system”