Health is important to New Zealanders personally and collectively. Demands on our health services are increasing, driven by causes such as an ageing society and the rising prevalence of long-lasting health conditions. The health budget was $14.655 billion in 2013, so it is important that services are designed and delivered without unnecessary waste.
To support effective and efficient design and delivery, changes to encourage regional services planning were introduced into the health sector in 2011. The expectation was that the separate district health boards would plan together to deliver services to reduce service vulnerability, reduce costs, and improve the quality of care.
In the health context, there are four regions – Northern, Midland, Central, and the South Island. Their populations range from about 850,000 to 1.7 million people.
This report describes how well regional services planning is working in practice. The work was part of my theme for 2012/13, Our future needs – is the public sector ready?
Lyn Provost
Controller and Auditor-General
12 November 2013