AUDITOR GENERAL’S REPORT HIGHLIGHTS HEALTH MINISTRY DEFICIENCIES

Released 16/12/2009 5:20pm (2 years ago)
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Today’s report released by the Office of the Auditor General on the effectiveness of auditing standards of New Zealand rest homes highlights deficiencies in both the Ministry of Health and District Health Boards, the NZ Aged Care Association says.

“The Auditor General’s Office report is not about the quality of care provided by the more than 700 rest homes in New Zealand. The report is about the Ministry’s poor performance under the Health and Disability Act,” the Aged Care Association’s chief executive Martin Taylor said.

“We note that the Auditor General’s Office did not audit one rest home when researching this report, as this focus was excluded from the investigations scope.

“Our concerns over HealthCert’s management developed in early 2008 when our members noticed significant inconsistencies around its processes and outcomes,” he said. “We put this down to significant staff turner of HealthCert, close to 100 percent, between late 2007 and mid 2008. The staff turnover meant there was little institutional knowledge or experience in the team administering the certification regime,” he said.

Mr Taylor said, “The report does not make any assertions about the quality of care being delivered in the sector, but we believe the Auditor General’s Office’s recommendations are sound such as stopping duplicate audits and looking at more reliable alternatives to the current designated audit agencies.”

He added, that: “We believe the Health and Disability Act regime is robust, but the administration of the regime needs better management. We think it is extremely important for our elderly that HealthCert builds on the gains it has made in the last year, improving the quality of DAAs and further developing their capacity to administer the certification regime.”

For More Information, Contact Martin Taylor, Chief Executive, New Zealand Aged Care Association, formally HealthCare Providers NZ on 0274535348

CONTACT:

NZ Aged Care Association
Ph: +64(27)4535348
Email: martin@nzaca.org.nz

View all NZ Aged Care Association releases at: http://spinitwide.com/latest-releases/nz-aged-care-association

Distributed by http://spinitwide.com on behalf of NZ Aged Care Association