December 19, 2024 • 5 mins
Health New Zealand's falling behind in its target to lift childhood vaccination rates.
The agency's quarterly performance report to the end of September shows immunisation rates for children at 24 months has fallen.
There was also a reduction in the number of people being seen in less than four months by a specialist.
Stays in emergency departments are shorter as more newborns are enrolled with GPs.
Chief executive Margie Apa told Heather du Plessis-Allan they're keeping a close eye on declining vaccination rates.
She says they've learned through covid it can be really helpful to get trusted people in the community.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Health new Zealand has released the first of its quarterly
performance reports. It's winning with two of the measures. It's
gone backwards on to Health New Zealand's chief executive is
Marjorie upper Morning, Margie Apartments, you're winning with the shorter
wait times for elective elective treatment. What's going on with
the specialist appointment waiting time blowing out like it has?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, that's a real challenge because we have, of course,
it's a bit like a tank, more people coming in
or being referred into specialist assessments than people being referred
and then moved on to either treatment or back to
primary care. So that is a volume challenge that we
do need to try to get on top of.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Do you think it's even worse than that looks here,
because we've heard that some specialists are not even adding
people to the waiting list because it's already so Choker, well.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
That's cool that maybe I'm true because we are looking
into the GP referrals that are declined because our services
believe they don't have a capacity, and it's really important
that we do accept patients to meet the clinical criteria
for a service, and actually the capacity issue of something
we need to work on as a service.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So why are they doing this, by the way, I mean,
why not take them on just add them to the
bottom of the list? Why say no?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh, look, I think our services feel quite challenged by
taking on patients and they're not being able to offer
them certainty and where they can book an appointment. And
this is a practice set's been going on in some
hospitals for many years. So we actually want to find
some light on that properly and look that in many
cases actually working with primary care to support them with
(01:34):
some more tools like diagnostics, or actually funding them to
actually get engaged in providing some other specialist support. You know,
there are lots of solutions that we could look at
to try to address that.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah. Now, the second thing that you guys are going
backwards on is the immunization rates for kids around about
two years old. What's going on here?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, that's really stubborn and you know, we've got to
do a lot of work to get confidence back in
immunization is COVID. But there is some hope we have
a massive uplift and patussus boosters to deal that at
the moment. And so we do think that if we're
Our job is to get the information out, tell our patients,
(02:12):
get trusted people into communities to let them know that
these vaccines are safe. You know, we know that that
is that has booken in Potassas as we since November,
and you know we need to apply that across the country.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Is this a COVID thing?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Is this?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Is this a result of people not wanting you know,
forcing the jab on people during COVID, them not wanting that,
them going down the rabbit hole and now they've gone
off all jabs altogether.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, it's certainly what there's some of the surveys and
feedba we've had from consumer groups tell us that there
is this trust in vaccines in general because of COVID.
But you know, I need to remind people these vaccines
are well proven of them. We've been using them for
a long time in our health systems. The evidence is
pretty sound and so you know that the it's really
(02:56):
important that we do rebuild that trust. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
I mean it's not work saying that though, is it?
Because that's what Jasinda said about the vaccine and then
and then and then people kind of felt the opposite
about it. Is we probably lost them, haven't we?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, there are some that and and we are keeping
a close eye on the decline rates because we do
count to the people who are offered a vaccine and
then have declined, and then we want to understand why.
And it varies around the country. But certainly we've also
learned and communities have told us and we who also
learned this through COVID. If there's a trust person that
comes into your community, whether it's the mud, I know
(03:30):
that that as somebody who actually you know, is informed
and trained, that can be really helpful. The other opportunity
we're opening up as other people being able to vaccinel vaccinated.
So we've got pharmacies training to do. You know, there
are over two hundred now who can do a whole
of life vaccination, including under two midwives and vaccinates, but
(03:50):
also Plunket, So we're really pleased to see Plunkett joining
the vaccination team.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
That be helpful. Are you getting a break to see.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
You, Yes, yes, Sam, looking forward to finishing work early
next week.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
I feel like you deserve it, Margie, after all of
the year that you've been through. Merry Christmas and go well,
that's Marjorie upper Health, New Zealand Commissioner hither the issue
with immunization rates is the funding model for providers. I
call absolute bs on that. The reason I call bs
on that is because as you know, having a baby,
Michael is going to arrive next year, you know, in
like about five weeks time. Thank god, Lord let it
(04:25):
go fast. Anyway, So when baby before baby Michael arrived,
I you know, well recently before, in preparation of baby
Michael arriving, I got in touch with various members of
the family and I said, listen's probably been a little
while since you had your hooping cough up. Your jab.
JAB got to get it every five years or so,
and we've got a hoop and coffe epidemic going on,
So can you just go get yourself like, you know whatever.
So my mum went and got her jab a couple
(04:47):
of days ago, done the right thing. Two members of
the family, which probably means it impacts about six members
of the family are not going to get the hooping
cough jabs because they have gone all weird because of
the owner. They've all they've gone totally lost their trust
and jabs will not get the hooping cough jab. And
the only way around that is basically we can't see
(05:07):
them for six weeks because it's sort of like, well,
you could see them, but then you could end up
with a dead baby, and who wants that. So I
don't want baby Michael to die because because somebody in
the family didn't want to get a job. So I
call base on that. I think what's gone on? And
I think this is when you sit there and you
sit in judgment, and you go, we did the right thing,
forcing people to get the JAB and do the mandates.
Just ask yourself if it really was the right thing,
(05:27):
because now we've got a really big problem trying to
givince people that we're right when we say trust the
hooping cough jab and go and get it. The father
also needs to get it. But that's the problem. There
is not JAB resistance. It's just male and competence, isn't
it In terms of organizing a doctor's visit. For more
from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks.
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
(05:50):
on iHeartRadio.
Health new Zealand has released the first of its quarterly
performance reports. It's winning with two of the measures. It's
gone backwards on to Health New Zealand's chief executive is
Marjorie upper Morning, Margie Apartments, you're winning with the shorter
wait times for elective elective treatment. What's going on with
the specialist appointment waiting time blowing out like it has?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, that's a real challenge because we have, of course,
it's a bit like a tank, more people coming in
or being referred into specialist assessments than people being referred
and then moved on to either treatment or back to
primary care. So that is a volume challenge that we
do need to try to get on top of.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Do you think it's even worse than that looks here,
because we've heard that some specialists are not even adding
people to the waiting list because it's already so Choker, well.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
That's cool that maybe I'm true because we are looking
into the GP referrals that are declined because our services
believe they don't have a capacity, and it's really important
that we do accept patients to meet the clinical criteria
for a service, and actually the capacity issue of something
we need to work on as a service.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
So why are they doing this, by the way, I mean,
why not take them on just add them to the
bottom of the list? Why say no?
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh, look, I think our services feel quite challenged by
taking on patients and they're not being able to offer
them certainty and where they can book an appointment. And
this is a practice set's been going on in some
hospitals for many years. So we actually want to find
some light on that properly and look that in many
cases actually working with primary care to support them with
(01:34):
some more tools like diagnostics, or actually funding them to
actually get engaged in providing some other specialist support. You know,
there are lots of solutions that we could look at
to try to address that.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
Yeah. Now, the second thing that you guys are going
backwards on is the immunization rates for kids around about
two years old. What's going on here?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, that's really stubborn and you know, we've got to
do a lot of work to get confidence back in
immunization is COVID. But there is some hope we have
a massive uplift and patussus boosters to deal that at
the moment. And so we do think that if we're
Our job is to get the information out, tell our patients,
(02:12):
get trusted people into communities to let them know that
these vaccines are safe. You know, we know that that
is that has booken in Potassas as we since November,
and you know we need to apply that across the country.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Is this a COVID thing?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Is this?
Speaker 1 (02:24):
Is this a result of people not wanting you know,
forcing the jab on people during COVID, them not wanting that,
them going down the rabbit hole and now they've gone
off all jabs altogether.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well, it's certainly what there's some of the surveys and
feedba we've had from consumer groups tell us that there
is this trust in vaccines in general because of COVID.
But you know, I need to remind people these vaccines
are well proven of them. We've been using them for
a long time in our health systems. The evidence is
pretty sound and so you know that the it's really
(02:56):
important that we do rebuild that trust. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
I mean it's not work saying that though, is it?
Because that's what Jasinda said about the vaccine and then
and then and then people kind of felt the opposite
about it. Is we probably lost them, haven't we?
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, there are some that and and we are keeping
a close eye on the decline rates because we do
count to the people who are offered a vaccine and
then have declined, and then we want to understand why.
And it varies around the country. But certainly we've also
learned and communities have told us and we who also
learned this through COVID. If there's a trust person that
comes into your community, whether it's the mud, I know
(03:30):
that that as somebody who actually you know, is informed
and trained, that can be really helpful. The other opportunity
we're opening up as other people being able to vaccinel vaccinated.
So we've got pharmacies training to do. You know, there
are over two hundred now who can do a whole
of life vaccination, including under two midwives and vaccinates, but
(03:50):
also Plunket, So we're really pleased to see Plunkett joining
the vaccination team.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
That be helpful. Are you getting a break to see.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
You, Yes, yes, Sam, looking forward to finishing work early
next week.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
I feel like you deserve it, Margie, after all of
the year that you've been through. Merry Christmas and go well,
that's Marjorie upper Health, New Zealand Commissioner hither the issue
with immunization rates is the funding model for providers. I
call absolute bs on that. The reason I call bs
on that is because as you know, having a baby,
Michael is going to arrive next year, you know, in
like about five weeks time. Thank god, Lord let it
(04:25):
go fast. Anyway, So when baby before baby Michael arrived,
I you know, well recently before, in preparation of baby
Michael arriving, I got in touch with various members of
the family and I said, listen's probably been a little
while since you had your hooping cough up. Your jab.
JAB got to get it every five years or so,
and we've got a hoop and coffe epidemic going on,
So can you just go get yourself like, you know whatever.
So my mum went and got her jab a couple
(04:47):
of days ago, done the right thing. Two members of
the family, which probably means it impacts about six members
of the family are not going to get the hooping
cough jabs because they have gone all weird because of
the owner. They've all they've gone totally lost their trust
and jabs will not get the hooping cough jab. And
the only way around that is basically we can't see
(05:07):
them for six weeks because it's sort of like, well,
you could see them, but then you could end up
with a dead baby, and who wants that. So I
don't want baby Michael to die because because somebody in
the family didn't want to get a job. So I
call base on that. I think what's gone on? And
I think this is when you sit there and you
sit in judgment, and you go, we did the right thing,
forcing people to get the JAB and do the mandates.
Just ask yourself if it really was the right thing,
(05:27):
because now we've got a really big problem trying to
givince people that we're right when we say trust the
hooping cough jab and go and get it. The father
also needs to get it. But that's the problem. There
is not JAB resistance. It's just male and competence, isn't
it In terms of organizing a doctor's visit. For more
from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks.
It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast
(05:50):
on iHeartRadio.
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