E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services echoes calls for cross sectoral approach to healthcare

E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services echoes the calls of Māori health leaders and researchers this week for a more cross sectoral approach to healthcare for best outcomes for Māori.

E Tipu e Rea celebrated the announcement of health reforms six months ago with high hopes for The Maori Health Authority, now named Te Aka Whai Ora. As an organisation we still remain very supportive of the move; however, due to the nature of our mahi, where we work both in the health and the social service sectors, and with the whanau who navigate these systems, we don’t believe the changes in the health sector are the full and complete answer to reducing inequalities.

This month alone we have seen the young whānau we work with struggle more than usual with access to GP services, childhood immunisations and midwifery services but alongside this they have also struggled with access to housing, food and other living costs which has had a direct affect on their health. The way that health services and social services go hand in hand means that one affects the other and vice versa. So without wider systemic change across sectors we are going to continue to see negative health outcomes for whānau Māori.

"A cross-sector response that does not just lay in the responsibility of Health needs to occur, our whānau do not operate in silos, they are across sectors, and each sector can either open doors to hauora or close them. Support systems in health and social services need to communicate daily, and operate closely to be an ecosystem that works to reduce inequalities" says CEO Zoe Hawke.