Voice of people and communities / Te reo o te tangata me te hapori

Our health system is being reshaped with and for the people who use it, and particularly those who have been traditionally underserved, are most disadvantaged or have the greatest need. Listening to and acting on the voices of people, whānau and communities is central to the reforms, and to the delivery of future health services.

What’s changing? / He aha ngā panonitanga?

The future system will be supported by a clear set of expectations and guidelines for how local, regional and national organisations should listen to and involve communities and consumers. This will ensure everyone understands the importance of community and whānau representation in determining and designing the services they use. 

We will bring together consumer groups into a more accessible national system of consumer forums. These forums will connect Health New Zealand, the Māori Health Authority, and the Ministry of Health to national, regional, and local consumer groups to make sure the right voices are heard, in the right way.

What will it look like in future? / Ka pēhea ā raurangi?

Our future system will:

• make it easy for people, communities, and whānau to contribute to our health system, from feeding into the design of their local services through to contributing to national strategies and plans
• clarify our expectations for how the voice of people and communities is captured in the system nationally, regionally and locally
• improve tools and support for organisations to involve people, particularly vulnerable populations who have traditionally been underserved
• support existing consumer and community groups to be part of a stronger forum at national, regional or local levels, so that there is a clear and consistent mechanism for partnership
• appropriately elevate and embed the Māori voice as a central pillar of consumer voice with a “by Māori, for Māori” approach.
• make sure there is a clear and consistent feedback pathway across the entire system to make it easy for people to say if their expectations are not met.