Māori Health Equity
Read this policy together with your practice's Te Tiriti o Waitangi policy because they are interconnected. We refer to te Tiriti o Waitangi rather than the Treaty of Waitangi to align with the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act. |
Policy
Test Medical Centre Foundation recognises/honours our responsibility to give effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi by achieving equity in health outcomes for Māori and eliminating health disparities.
We affirm our obligations as a health entity under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act, in particular to
- be guided by the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi for the health sector, as articulated by the Courts and the Waitangi Tribunal
- ensure Māori have equitable access to health services and achieve equitable health outcomes
- engage with Māori to deliver services that reflect their needs
- provide culturally safe health services.
Source: Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act, s7
We commit to being guided by the Ministry of Health's strategies for Māori health, Pae Tū: Hauora Māori Strategy and Whakamaua: Māori Health Action Plan 2020-2025, and support their three interconnected aims:
- Mauri ora (healthy individuals) is the aspiration for individuals to flourish.
- Whānau ora (healthy families) is the philosophy of creating strong, healthy, and empowered whānau.
- Wai ora (healthy environments) acknowledges the impact of connections to whenua (land) and environment on the health and well-being of individuals, whānau, and communities.
Source: Pae Tū: Hauora Māori Strategy
Mana whenua
Mana whenua are the iwi/hāpu who have mana and authority over our area.
Our mana whenua is/are XXXX.
We are committed to establishing and strengthening our relationships with mana whenua.
Community relationships
We establish/strengthen equitable relationships to ensure our services for Māori are designed with input from Māori.
We engage with Māori to design our health services for Māori.
We work with multiple Māori organisations, e.g. XXX to improve cervical screening rates, XXX to help provide additional wraparound services for our high-needs patients, and XXX to support our immunisation programme.
We work with Māori providers, community organisations, and/or our PHO kaiāwhina to develop our Māori health plan.
Equitable outcomes
Strategic and quality improvement planning underpins all our activities and allows us to plan and evaluate how we are achieving our objectives and fulfilling our responsibilities. We seek to understand, consider, and respond to the needs of our Māori patients/whānau when developing our goals and strategies for Māori health equity.
- Our Māori health plan includes our strategies for addressing inequity in Māori health outcomes.
- Our clinical governance group has responsibility for identifying and addressing areas of inequity.
- Our quality plan includes initiatives to support our pursuit of health equity for Māori.
We seek to identify and reduce barriers that prevent whānau from accessing, participating, or being engaged with health care.
- We support team members with resources to strengthen their confidence and capability in te reo Māori and tikanga Māori, and to integrate this into their everyday work.
- We have signage and health resources available for patients in te reo Māori.
- We offer professional development opportunities to strengthen cultural competency and ensure cultural safety.
- We ensure each team member knows how to apply the principles of te Tiriti o Waitangi to their area of work.
See also Clinical Governance and Te Reo Māori and Tikanga.
We wish to acknowledge Janelle Riki-Waaka (Tainui Awhiro, Ngāti Hauiti), Kaihautū of Riki Consultancy Ltd, who has supported the GPDocs team through the process of reviewing and updating this policy, as well as providing expert advice on the content it contains. He mihi ka tika ki a Janelle mō tōna mahi āwhina ki a mātou. |
Māori health plan
Our Māori health plan includes our strategies and actions for improving equitable outcomes.