An update from the Consumer health forum Aotearoa
No images? Click here
Kia ora, there was an issue with the link to the consumer resources in yesterday’s newsletter. We’ve updated the link in the version below and apologise for any inconvenience. If you need any assistance, email consumers@hqsc.govt.nz
Message from the Director's desk
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā iwi, tēnā koutou katoa.
I would like to start this newsletter by celebrating some recent milestones and events.
Partnership in care: consumer, whānau and community engagement in primary and community health care resource.
In June we published the updated ‘Partnership in primary and community care’ resource. It is designed to help health care providers strengthen consumer, whānau and community engagement in primary care.
You can read the guide on our website
Support for disability events in June
The health system needs to be more accessible for all New Zealanders, with a focus on inclusion and belonging for disabled people.
It was wonderful to participate in and support three events with the disability community in June: I.Lead conference, Access matters webinar and the Deafblind conference.
These events provided a podium for the disability community to influence improved health outcomes for all New Zealanders, particularly disabled people and their whānau.
Professor Sunny Collings appointed Chief Executive of Te Tāhū Hauora Health Quality & Safety Commission
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Sunny Collings as our new Chief Executive, commencing 13 August.
Professor Collings brings a depth of experience in public health, research, and executive leadership. She was most recently Chief Executive of the Health Research Council of New Zealand and previous roles include Dean and Head of Campus at the University of Otago, Wellington. She is also a Professor of Psychiatry and has made significant contributions to health equity, mental health, and the evidence base supporting improved outcomes for all New Zealanders.
Professor Collings fills the vacancy left by Dr Peter Jansen who stepped down in March for health reasons.
Recent appointments
Stanley King has been appointed to the Consumer Network | Kōtuinga Kiritaki. Stanley co-owns Tuturu Consultancy Ltd, a small Māori-owned business which brings together health and traffic management functions.
Kya Thornicroft has been appointed to Ngā Reo Māhuri | Young Voices Group. Kya is currently studying at the University of Auckland, she is passionate about health equity and access to healthcare.
Consumer perspectives improving health outcomes
Over the next twelve months the Commission will continue to focus on channelling the perspectives and experiences of consumers and whānau to drive improved health outcomes. Our organisation of Ō Mātou Reo: Our Voices 2025 is an example of this.
Thank you for continuing to engage with and support our work, we hope you enjoy this update.
Kelly Palmer
Director of Te Pūkāea Matatika | Māori Health and Consumer
Registrations are officially open for Ō Mātou Reo!
This event will bring together consumers, whānau and communities to share their perspectives with health and disability service providers and professionals. It’s an event not to be missed.
We’ve had a huge number of pre-registrations for this event so we encourage you to get in quick to reserve your spot.
Consumer insights for Ministerial reports
To better understand the impact of current pressures on the health system, we are gathering intelligence from consumers and the health workforce on current and emerging issues.
We would like to invite you to feed into this process through an interview over Microsoft Teams. The interviews will form the basis of our Insights reports to the Minister of Health, Hon Simeon Brown.
We aim to complete interviews by the end of August and will report to the Minister at the end of September. We expect the interviews to take approximately 15–20 minutes.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please email the Commission’s Insights team and they will provide you with further information including the interview questions.
Consumer profile: Josh McMillan
Josh has been a member of Te Tāhū Hauora Ngā reo māhuri | Young voices consumer advisory group since 2023.
Josh is a passionate advocate for young people in the health system. After navigating cancer treatment as a young person, he now uses his experience to push for more transparent, inclusive, and plain language communication in health care.
His vision for change is clear: “Young people deserve to be informed, included, and spoken to with respect in their health journey”.
Read Josh’s full profile to learn more about his journey, including his involvement with Canteen Aotearoa, his study of politics, history and international relations and his recent step into the role of a young leader.
Order your free consumer resources
The Commission has a range of consumer health resources designed to support better communication and planning in health care available for you to order.
These include well-used tools such as:
- Let’s Plan to Leave Hospital (available in multiple languages)
- Let’s Plan for Your Next Health Care Visit - (available in multiple languages)
- Three Steps to Health Literacy
- The Patient Safety Card
We invite consumers, whānau, and the wider community to order through the ECOS website before stock runs out. You can select the resources you need, along with the quantity and they’ll be sent directly to you, free of charge.
This is a valuable opportunity to share these health resources across your networks and organisations. They will continue to be digitally available but we will no longer be offering printed stock.
Consumer opportunities | Tā te kiritaki whai wāhi
We actively support consumer involvement in decision-making about health at all levels. This includes the planning, design, delivery, and evaluation of health services.
- EOI: Pressure injuries working group consumer representative
- EOI: Primary Care data governance group
- EOI: Ministerial insights report - consumer interviews
- EOI: Surgical Mesh Roundtable consumer representative
- Survey: Collaborative Aotearoa Patient and Whānau AI
The following opportunities are available for consumers to contribute to health system improvement:
Do you have an opportunity you think consumer health forum Aotearoa members should know about? Let us know!
Your suggestions on how to improve our Consumer health forum Aotearoa?
We would like your feedback about how we can improve your experience of the forum. Please complete the online form below to share your thoughts.
This newsletter is not designed to be forwarded like a regular email. If you would like to share it, please use the ‘Forward’ button below – this will open a form where you can enter the relevant contact information. This information is not stored by us and is only used to forward the newsletter.
