National PRIME Committee

For years, our rural healthcare workforce has known intuitively that those in rural areas have poorer health outcomes than those in urban areas, but there has been no clear data to show this. In 2022, academics from Otago and Waikato Universities developed a geographical definition of rurality for health purposes, finally enabling the sector to compare the health outcomes of those living in rural areas with those in or near cities.

Please find the link below for Hauora Taiwhenua's submission for to ACC on changes to ACC regulations for Chinese Medicine, Paramedics and Audiometrists. Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission on changes to ACC regulations for Chinese Medicine, Paramedics and Audiometrists. Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network has a vision of healthy and thriving rural communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. We strongly support the proposed changes as they will contribute to achieving this vision.

Te Whatu Ora leaders' presentation about their plans for a Rural Hospital Sustainability Project was well received but as far as we know, has not gained the traction we'd hoped for - most likely as the Hospital and Specialist services team are carrying a massive workload. However, this is no consolation for the NGO rural hospitals and rural general practices who provide medical services in their co-located Te Whatu Ora hospital. A letter from them to Margie Apa, asked her to urgently address the financial and clinical risks they face because their funding does not allow them to achieve pay parity for their clinical staff.