$49.8m boost for Whanau Ora navigators   21 May 2015

$49.8m boost for Whanau Ora navigators

New operating funding of $49.8 million over the next four years will further support Whanau Ora navigators to work with whanau, aiga and families, Whanau Ora Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says.

This new funding will allow the continuation of Whanau Ora navigators, who play a critical role in Whanau Ora,” he says. “They act as brokers for whanau and support them to achieve their goals.

“As a result, whanau are seeing improvements across a broad range of outcomes, including accessing relevant services, being employment-ready and adopting healthier lifestyle choices.”

A 2015 Ministry of Health report highlights that around 60 per cent of patients enrolled in a sample of Whanau Ora general practices are high needs patients, compared with only a quarter of patients in a national sample.

In the report, the Ministry of Health selected 11 health indicators to compare the performance of Whanau Ora general practices with the performance of a national sample of general practices.

The Whanau Ora sample performed the same as or better in eight of the 11 indicators, despite having a large proportion of high needs patients.

The greatest improvements to the end of 2014 were in cardiovascular disease, smoking cessation and diabetes patient review.

New funding for Whanau Ora navigators will be allocated to Whanau Ora commissioning agencies, to enable about 230 navigators to work with whanau and families within their areas of focus.

The commissioning agencies are required to meet a range of expectations, including annual investment plans and reporting on expenditure and outcomes.

“This funding demonstrates the Government’s on-going commitment to Whanau Ora, in particular the potential for Whanau Ora commissioning agencies to invest in greater outcomes for whanau,” Mr Flavell says.

“As I said earlier this month when responding to the Auditor-General’s report on Whanau Ora, the report acknowledged the value of taking an innovative public policy approach to supporting families in need.

“At the same time, we can all take some valuable lessons from the report, and we will do so.”

ENDS

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