Associate Health Minister Willow-Jean Prime at a select committee (File photo) Photo: ©VNP / Phil Smith
Associate Health Minister Willow-Jean Prime is celebrating the rollout of $74m to its Kahu Taurima maternity programme, and $7m to buy 20 new paediatric retinal cameras.
Prime visited Turiki Healthcare in Māngere and the Fono in Mt Wellington on Wednesday morning to announce the funding, which was first allocated in Budgets 2022 and '23.
Kahu Taurima is a reform of maternity services being led by Te Whatu Ora Health NZ and Te Aka Whai Ora Māori Health Authority, redesigning the model of care for parents and children from conception to five years of age, and aiming to reduce barriers in the system by shifting to a whānau-centred approach.
It followed feedback that parents were experiencing racism, discrimination and ableism and wanted clearer access to primary, specialised maternity and early years care - particularly in rural areas.
Prime said the programme would support 40 hauora Māori partners and five Pacific partners to "put whānau at the centre of their maternity and early years journey".
"There will also be funded initiatives to improve access to maternal mental health and wellbeing care, including those who experience bereavement, through the development of solutions informed by whānau voice.
"It will take time, but this is a fundamental shift to reconfigure services and supports around what matters and makes a difference for whānau."
The funding for the retinal cameras was a vitally important step for protecting babies' eyesight, she said.
"This investment means at least one portable retinal camera will be available in every tertiary hospital in New Zealand. Having the right equipment when babies are born means we can treat avoidable problems and monitor issues in the right way.
"I'm delighted that initiatives I'm announcing today will support some of our most vulnerable youngsters."
Initial documentation was unclear about where the funding came from.
The minister's office referred RNZ's questions to Te Aka Whai Ora, which said funding for the cameras was allocated in the 2022 Budget, and the money for Kahu Taurima came from allocations across Budget 2022 and 2023.