Past advocacy priorities
Hui Report
The RACP’s Māori Health Hui is a biennial project of the Māori Health Committee, a standing Committee of the Aotearoa New Zealand Committee. The third and most recent Hui was held in Auckland at Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa Marae in Mangere on 9 November 2017. It was attended by Māori RACP members, RACP Board, members of the College Senior Leadership Group,representatives from health sector organisations, and Māori members of other medical colleges. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Committee was represented at the Hui by Dr Naru Pal.
The report opens with an overview of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/The Treaty of Waitangi before considering the location and place of the Hui — Te Manukanuka o Hoturoa marae in Mangere. Our Hui consisted of 3 sessions, which are captured in this report:
- Ko Aotearoa Tēnei: Resetting the Foundations of the Institution
- WAI 2575 Inquiry into Health Services and Outcomes for Māori
- Mana Taurite/Health Equity panel, featuring representatives from a diverse range of organisations, all with a common aim of achieving health equity for Māori
This report acts as the record of our Hui. It seeks to capture and preserve as much of the valuable discussions, questions and challenges to the College for a wider audience as possible.
Read the Hui Report (PDF).
Physicians and paediatricians practising in isolation
Physicians and paediatricians want to ensure the best health outcomes for their patients. Health practitioners work within an integrated team and health system, and can only deliver quality care if they are well supported in their workplace. Many specialist physicians and paediatricians practice in geographical or professional isolation.
This document outlines some of the issues facing those physicians and paediatricians practising in isolation and seeks to identify ways to ameliorate the situation.
Read the Physicians and paediatricians practising in isolation in New Zealand discussion (PDF).
Call for a New Zealand Rehabilitation Strategy
The Call for a New Zealand Rehabilitation Strategy (The Call) recognises the unique Aotearoa New Zealand rehabilitation landscape and current provisions while identifying opportunities for strengthening, and increasing collaboration when providing, rehabilitation services.
The Call presents the rationale for a New Zealand rehabilitation strategy as a tool to ensure equitable access to rehabilitation services and improve outcomes for patients and their whānau/families.
The Call was jointly developed by the Australasian Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine and the New Zealand Rehabilitation Association with a Working Party and in consultation with key stakeholders and organisations working in the rehabilitation space.
As of 2020, The Call for a New Zealand Rehabilitation Strategy is under review.
Antimicrobial resistance
This Aotearoa New Zealand position paper outlines the international context of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), identifies 3 examples of multiple drug resistant organisms common in Aotearoa NZ and examines ways in which health professionals can contribute to local actions to combat antimicrobial resistance through antimicrobial stewardship and enhanced infection prevention and control activities.
It has been developed by the Aotearoa NZ Adult Medicine Division Committee (NZ AMDC) and Aotearoa NZ Policy and Advocacy Committee, and peer reviewed by Associate Professor of Molecular Medicine and Pathology Mark Thomas, at the University of Auckland.
We believe a national, evidence-based approach coordinated by central government and involving Ministries, District Health Boards hospitals and primary care, the private sector and the public is vital to contribute to the global effort to combat AMR.
Read the Antimicrobial resistance in New Zealand paper (PDF).
Starting the conversation about organ donation
Rates of organ and tissue donation after death in Aotearoa New Zealand have been described as ‘low’, by comparison with other countries. In 2015, the Ministry of Health began a review into organ and tissue donation in Aotearoa NZ. The review:
- identified local initiatives to increase deceased organ donation and transplantation in Aotearoa NZ
- considers features of overseas models
- notes Aotearoa NZ-specific issues that may impact on decisions to donate
Following the review in June 2017, the New Zealand government launched The Deceased Organ Donation and Transplantation National Strategy.
Read the Starting the conversation about organ donation: a resource for physicians and paediatricians in New Zealand (PDF).