54394 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health

54394 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the quarter April to June 2024 on the priority action ‘improve utilisation of health technology and innovation to support system access and health monitoring for women’ under ‘Priority 4: Living well and ageing well’ withing the Ministry of Health’s ‘Women’s Health Strategy 2023’?

Hon Casey Costello: The Women’s Health Strategy sets the direction for improving the health and wellbeing of women over the next 10 years. The Government Policy Statement on Health (GPS) 2024–2027 includes expectations and actions over a three-year period that will improve health outcomes for women. The GPS is available at the following link: https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/government-policy-statement-health-2024-2027. The GPS sets out a range of expectations that will support timely access to quality health services for women, including the following three which are specifically related to women’s health: a. Expand the choice of whānau-centred and holistic maternity and early years' services. b. Extend breast cancer screening age to 74-year-olds. c. Increase HPV screening rates with a focus on population groups with lower screening rates. During the April to June 2024 quarter, the Minister of Health announced a $30 million investment in community referred radiology services by Health NZ. This will allow general practitioners and other community providers to have direct access to X-rays, CT scans, and Ultrasound without the need for patient co-payments. This investment aims to reduce variation in access to community referred radiology services, such as pelvic ultrasounds, which in turn will result in more timely access to care for women. The initial stage of this work has included developing digital design solutions to support equitable access to community referred radiology. I am further advised that Te Aho o Te Kahu is continuing to progress the breast cancer quality performance indicators (QPIs) project. By addressing data and research gaps, the QPI programme aims to highlight variation in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes to inform cancer service quality improvement activities. The report on the results for 10 breast cancer QPIs is due for publication by the end of 2024. This report will show unwarranted variation in breast cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment approaches between the 20 different districts that make up Health New Zealand. Monitoring the Women’s Health Strategy is a requirement under the Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) Act 2022 and will be undertaken by officials at key points in the accountability cycle.