Report by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission
The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) has given the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, its report on the framework for the next Australian Health Care Agreements.
Beyond the Blame Game: Accountability and performance benchmarks for the next Australian Health Care Agreements represents the Commission’s views on key issues to be addressed in the Agreements and proposes robust and relevant performance indicators and benchmarks.
Chair of the NHHRC, Dr Christine Bennett, said the Commission’s Report highlights 12 health and health care challenges that must be addressed in the Agreements to enhance health promotion and wellness and to make the health system work better for the people who need it and use it.
The 12 challenges are:
* Closing the gap in Indigenous health status
* Investing in prevention
* Ensuring a healthy start
* Redesigning care for those with chronic and complex conditions
* Recognising the health needs of the whole person
* Ensuring timely hospital process
* Caring for and respecting the needs of people at the end of life
* Promoting improved safety and quality of health care
* Improving distribution and equitable access to services
* Ensuring access on the basis of need, not ability to pa,
* Improving and connecting information to support high quality care
* Ensuring enough, well-trained health professionals and promoting research
Dr Bennett said that while the Commission had identified these challenges for the Health Care Agreements, the Commission also recognised that there were other challenges facing the health system as a whole.
“The Commission is preparing to hear many views from the public, frontline health workers, professional and consumer organisations, Indigenous health providers, and other health groups through an extensive community engagement process,” Dr Bennett said.
“In coming months, the Commission will be travelling around Australia engaging with communities and people from the health sector to collect ideas on the future design of the Australian health system.
“This will complement the formal submission process that is already underway, with submissions being accepted up until the end of May.
“We encourage individuals and organisations to make a submission to the NHHRC to help us shape a health system that is truly people and family centred to serve the Australian community well into the future,”she said.
For more information visit www.nhhrc.org.au
