Health to 'partner' with private healthcare

[Lilith7]

The thin edge of the wedge..?

Our health system is definitely in need of an overhaul, has been for some time thanks to successive govts embracing Neo Liberalism but there's a danger that 'partnering' with private health providers may make things worse.

And this is the same health minister who ditched a bowel screening programme for Maori which started at  50.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/544...lth-sector

[king1]

i'm ok with that to be honest, but the million dollar question is just how much of a better deal does he think they're going to get from a long term contract?

and will the private sector want to give up their private paying capacity for government rates...

and last time I checked we still had a severe staffing shortage everywhere

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Health has always partnered when need demanded it. ACC uses Southern Cross Hospital when public is unavailable and surgeons request it, cancer treatment is often under private providers, as are services like x ray, ultrasound and mri. In return the public system often devotes time and facilities to private patients. That is how a holistic system works for the good of as many as possible.

[Jan]

This has been already been happening - but as the Deloitte report just exposed the private facilitators we’re able to charge whatever and it was paid - the difference will be the amount spent on private care will be monitored .Absolutely beggars belief that when the restructure happened there was absolutely no financial controls or systems put in by Andrew Little - no wonder the two managers quit as soon as Levy came on board - they had no idea about budgets and the entire financial records of the billions of dollars spent consisted of one spread sheet .The report is on the Health NZ website - it mirrors what happened with Kiwibuild .
Be interesting to see if TV1 mention the report

[Praktica]

This has been already been happening - but as the Deloitte report just exposed the private facilitators we’re able to charge whatever and it was paid - the difference will be the amount spent on private care will be monitored .Absolutely beggars belief that when the restructure happened there was absolutely no financial controls or systems put in by Andrew Little - no wonder the two managers quit as soon as Levy came on board - they had no idea about budgets and the entire financial records of the billions of dollars spent consisted of one spread sheet .The report is on  the Health NZ website - it mirrors what happened with Kiwibuild .
Be interesting to see if TV1 mention the report

Oh dear - It's Labour's fault again! Do you have another tune?

[Oh_hunnihunni]

When ACC uses private providers they do so on their terms. Same way they pay a set schedule of fees to consultants and surgeons, and use their own stable of experts to check records and recommendations. And they still make a massive safety net fund for future drawdowns. I don't think it is a political issue that the public system has so many stresses, that is more to do with the pressure of demand as population increases and ages, and the lack of staff supply coming through. We train them, other nations poach them. It's a compliment to our training regimes, but it doesn't help the system here that lacks the resources to match salary and benefits packages available overseas.

We are a small nation, we pay a price for that privilege.

[Lilith7]

The reason this concerns me slightly is that with a Neo Liberal govt, the 'partnering' could be the thin edge of the wedge.

Really, our health system needs an overhaul & we could do worse than to base it,as far as possible, on systems which work well elsewhere. The former NHS system in the UK for example - before the Neo Liberals altered it.

We appear to also need far more nurses & had all those who recently qualified been employed here then that might have helped slightly.