Article

Pinnacle features among the first areas to roll out localities approach

20 April 2022

The development of localities is set to be a fundamental part of New Zealand’s reformed health system.

Today Health Minister Andrew Little announced the first nine areas to roll out the locality approach to improving people's health.

We’re excited to share that Tūwharetoa (Taupō-Tūrangi) and Hauraki are among the first communities to be selected. This means the learnings and impacts from this new approach will be strongly experienced within the Pinnacle network.

The locality approach will replace the way things are currently done through district health boards and primary healthcare organisations. It is important to note the people doing this work now will still be involved, but we’ll be working differently.

The positive progress happening in these communities already was a big factor in their selection.

Ōtara/Papatoetoe
Hauraki
Tūwharetoa (Taupō-Tūrangi)
Wairoa
Whanganui
Porirua
West Coast
Eastern Bay of Plenty
Horowhenua

As shown on the map above, there is emphasis on areas with a strong Māori or Pacific population along with a strong focus on rural populations. These are populations where currently services can struggle to deliver on an equitable basis.

A locality is essentially a place-based approach to improving the health of populations, as well as a mechanism for organising health AND social services to meet the needs identified by whānau, community and mana whenua.

There are three characteristics to a locality.

It is a partnership with mana whenua, recognising their tino rangatiratanga.
The approach supports locally led solutions that take a holistic approach to wellbeing, acknowledging the range of other factors that impact on a person’s health.
The locality approach will join up care across communities and improve integration with different layers of the health system.

Localities are geographic areas that make sense to the people that live there.

The exact geographic size, or population it serves, will change across the country, and will be determined through engagement with the community.
The boundary lines may follow existing boundaries defined by local government or mana whenua; it will simply depend on what works best for each area.

Once the boundary is determined, people and organisations with influence over community health and wellbeing will collaborate on what outcomes they want to see for their community. This will include Iwi-Māori Partnership Boards, and ideally will include health and social care agencies and community organisations, and local government.

A three-year locality plan will be developed in collaboration with the locality partnership, Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, Health New Zealand, and the Māori Health Authority. These locality plans will detail how the goals set for a locality will be achieved.

The plans will drive procurement of services by Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority and be the basis for monitoring progress.

Communities and consumers of health services in the locality will be actively involved in identifying priorities and aspirations for services and outcomes.

Where there are localities

The first localities will be stood up over April and May 2022 to provide a platform for working through the detail of how the locality approach will operate in practice.

Where localities are being rolled out, they will start to work in different ways and in collaboration with community and social care organisations.

We will see a change in traditional provider roles and service models over time, and the commissioning and development of new roles and services to meet community need. This will have impacts on general practice, and we'll be regularly updating you from what we are learning from our work with Tūwharetoa (Taupō-Tūrangi) and Hauraki localities.

The insights gained from the first localities will also help determine the support arrangements for provider networks.

Where localities are yet to be formed

The roll out of localities will happen over the next two years. New localities are expected to be stood up each quarter so that every area in New Zealand has its own locality by July 2024.

On 1 June 2022, and in areas where localities are yet to be rolled out, primary health organisations will continue to operate through existing arrangements until the new locality approach rolls out.

Pinnacle will be helping general practices in areas not part of initial localities to understand and prepare for the changes that will come.

This locality will follow the tribal boundary of Ngāti Tūwharetoa as mana whenua of this rohe.

This locality aspires to the ‘holy grail’ of health and social care integration, which includes comprehensive primary and community care teams, and will build on existing intersectoral partnerships to co-ordinate services for whānau with complex needs.

Provider networks, comprised of comprehensive community care teams, will work together to plan and deliver care and develop new community models of service delivery. Implicit to their success will be the ability to share clinical data.

The good news is we aren’t starting from scratch and there is considerable collaboration underway that we can leverage - we’ve got COVID-19 to thank for that!

Here are some Q+As that we're sure you are interested in - if you have more please contact Katie Latimer, General Manager, Strategic Development.

The development of this locality is being led by: