NZNO is seeking your feedback on the above review which identifies options for strengthening fortification of bread or fortifying wheat flour to further reduce neural tube defects such as spina bifida, as outlined below:

OPTION 1: Maintaining the status quo

OPTION 2: Asking industry to enhance voluntary fortification

OPTION 3: Changing to mandatory fortification 

(3A) Mandatory fortification of non-organic bread

(3B) Mandatory fortification of non-organic bread-making wheat flour

(3C) Mandatory fortification of all non-organic wheat flour

Folic acid is an essential B vitamin important for the healthy development of babies early in pregnancy. There is overwhelming evidence that consuming sufficient folic acid before conception and during early pregnancy can prevent many cases of neural tube defects such as spina bifida.

Crucially, MPI argues that Aotearoa New Zealands’s rate of neural tube defects is higher than it could be and Māori women have higher rates of affected live births than other groups. The financial, social, and emotional impact from such birth defects can be significant for many whānau and wider communities.

Please see the link to the consultation paper

Please send feedback to diana.cookson@nzno.org.nz by 2 November 2019.

NZNO seeks your feedback specifically on Section 5 of the document which focuses on what is meant by quality urban environments. A successful city may include a built environment that makes a significant difference to the health outcomes of people and communities. We are interested in whether you have any ideas about the potential of urban design to improve the health of New Zealanders, for example through ensuring physical activity opportunities (safe, active transport), healthy food access and opportunities for social and community interactions. We are also interested to know if you have had any experience of useful policy tools to support healthy urban development, e.g. Health Impact Assessments. 

Please see link

Please send feedback to policyanalysts@nzno.org.nz by 3 October 2019.

This discussion document outlines the long term vision, objectives and actions that have resulted from the conversation with New Zealanders. These are the starting point for the proposed Statement of National Education and Learning Priorities (NELP) and the Tertiary Education Strategy (TES), which are the focus of this consultation.

discussion document

Please send feedback to sue.gasquoine@nzno.org.nz by October 23, 2019.

NZNO seeks your feedback on a proposal that will enable appropriately trained podiatrists to prescribe from a list of medicines relevant to their clinical practice. This is known as Designated Prescribing.

Currently, podiatrists use certain medications under exemption, and refer their patients back to their GP or other prescribers, when they require other medications.

Prescribing by podiatrists will reduce delays in accessing treatment and enable more equitable and cost-effective access to medications for patients.

There are 8 questions, and this should take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete, depending on your responses.

Please see link to the Consultation document below:

Please send feedback to Jill.Wilkinson@nzno.org.nz by 14 October 2019.

NZNO invites your feedback on the MoH’s review of the WCTO programme. The aim of the review is to ensure the programme is able to help improve the health and overall wellbeing of tamariki. We welcome your views on what you think is currently working, what may not be working or any improvements.

The engagement tool is designed around six themes:

• whānau centered
• integration
• workforce
• data and information
• equity
• funding and contracting.

Please take the time to complete the online engagement form to have your say. 

Please see the engagement form below:

Please send feedback to policyanalysts@nzno.org.nz by 24 October 2019.

NZNO seeks your feedback specifically on Section 5 of the document which focuses on what is meant by quality urban environments. A successful city may include a built  environment that makes a significant difference to the health outcomes of people and communities. We are interested in whether you have any ideas about the potential of urban design to improve the health of New Zealanders, for example through ensuring physical activity opportunities (safe, active transport), healthy food access and opportunities for social and community interactions. We are also interested to know if you have had any experience of useful policy tools to support healthy urban development, e.g. Health Impact Assessments. 

Please see below, for the link to the document.

Please send feedback to policyanalysts@nzno.org.nz by 3 October 2019.

NZNO seeks your feedback on the implications for nursing of this Bill which aims to “create a unified and cohesive vocational education and training system” through amendment to the Education Act 1989.  This will be achieved by —

• establishing a new regulatory framework for vocational education and training; and
• enabling workforce development councils to be established under the principal Act to provide skills leadership, set standards and develop qualifications, endorse programmes and moderate assessments, and provide an advisory and representative role in vocational education and training; and
• establishing the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST) as a tertiary education institution under the principal Act and a Crown entity for the purposes of the Crown Entities Act 2004. NZIST will provide, arrange, and support a range of vocational education and training, including in the workplace; and
• providing transitional arrangements to enable a smooth transfer of functions and responsibilities from the current system to the new system.

Please see the Bill below

Please send feedback to policyanalysts@nzno.org.nz by 6 October 2019.

NZNO seeks your feedback specifically on section 6 of this plan which focuses on supporting the delivery of safe drinking water. Safe drinking water is a fundamental of public health which is proving increasingly unreliable in Aotearoa New Zealand and poses risks to human health, for example the Havelock North drinking water crisis and excess nitrates in drinking water in areas of intensive farming. We are particular we interested in whether you:

• support the proposals to amend the National Environmental Standards for Sources of Drinking Water (NES) and
• agree with the proposal to strengthen the obligations on regional councils and territorial authorities to manage risks to source waters through amendment to the Drinking Water NES.

Please  find the discussion document here:

https://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Fresh%20water/action-for-healthy-waterways.pdf

Please send feedback to diana.cookson@nzno.org.nz by October 10, 2019.

This ten-year Action Plan aims to ensure collaborative work to prevent cancer and improve detection, diagnosis, treatment and care after treatment. It seeks to ensure access to quality cancer care regardless of where New Zealanders live, or who they are. Priority populations include Māori, Pacific peoples, those in rural and highly deprived areas, those with mental illness and disabled people.

Key actions of the plan include:

• making more medicines accessible for more people through a funding boost for PHARMAC
• increased emphasis on prevention and screening and
• Quality Performance Indicators that are specific to cancer to improve equity of care.

NZNO seeks your feedback on:

• whether this Action Plan includes the right actions to improve cancer outcomes in New Zealand and  
• any other cancer areas that need to be considered. 

Please  see the Action Plan attached.

Please provide feedback using the online survey.

Please send feedback to policyanalysts@nzno.org.nz by 6 October 2019.

NZNO seeks your feedback on this consultation which aims to set the direction for the future of online gambling in New Zealand. This is in response to the increasing number of people affected by gambling harm and persistent health inequities for the most affected at-risk population groups.

We are interested in your feedback on:

• how best to regulate online availability in New Zealand (see specific options set out in document) and
• how online gambling as an addiction disorder is affecting the lives of New Zealanders.

Please see the discussion document here:

https://www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/Online-Gambling-Consultation/$file/Online-Gambling-in-New-Zealand-Discussion-Document.pdf

In May of this year WorkSafe consulted publicly on a draft guideline Violence in the Healthcare Industry: Guidance for PCBUs. The NZNO Addressing Violence Against Nurses Project Team made a comprehensive submission that contributed to refining the draft, and which started some valuable discussion. 

WorkSafe are consulting again on this new version of the Guideline, through the Central Region District Health Board Technical Advisory Services (TAS) and unions.

For more infomation view the attachments in the box below, and please send feedback to policyanalyst@nzno.org.nz by Friday, 13 September 2019

NZNO seeks your feedback on the changes proposed in the Abortion Legislation Bill, which takes abortion out of Crimes Act and seeks to treat the procedure as a health issue.

Crucially, the bill would allow a woman to refer themselves for an abortion in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. This replaces the current system that requires an abortion to be approved by two certifying consultants before proceeding.

However, after 20 weeks, women will have to meet a statutory test requiring a heath practitioner to “reasonably believe the abortion is appropriate with regard to the pregnant woman’s physical and mental health, and well-being” before being given the procedure.

The bill would also:

• allow safe areas to be established around specific abortion facilities, on a case-by-case basis;
• disestablish the Abortion Supervisory Committee;
• ensure that practitioners who object to providing services on the grounds of conscience must inform the pregnant women about their objection, and that the woman can obtain the services elsewhere and
• make it clear that health practitioners must advise people who are considering, or have had, an abortion that counselling services are available (although counselling will not be mandatory).

We are very interested in your views as health professionals on this model, either as individuals or as members of a college or section.  

Please click the link in the Link box below, and send feedback to leanne.manson@nzno.org.nz by September 12, 2019.

This discussion paper is the first step in the process to better incorporate culture into the Living Standards Framework (LSF) and Dashboard, which are anticipated to be released in 2021.

The key questions considered in the newly released paper include:

• What are the different dimensions of culture that matter for New Zealanders’ wellbeing?
• What would be the advantages and disadvantages of creating a fifth capital stock under the heading Cultural Capital in the LSF?
• What set of indicators and statistical measures should there be to monitor the contribution of cultural capital to future wellbeing?

NZNO welcomes your feedback on this  paper, which is attached below:

https://treasury.govt.nz/system/files/2019-06/dp19-02-culture-wellbeing-lsf.pdf

Please send feedback to Leanne.Manson@nzno.org.nz by September 23, 2019

NZNO invites your feedback on this inquiry which will focus on cancer care and explore barriers that Māori experience relating to prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, cures, and palliative care.  The inquiry will focus on cancer care and explore barriers that Māori experience relating to prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, cures, and palliative care.

The terms of reference for this inquiry will focus on:

• collating existing statistics and evidence regarding Māori cancer health and identifying significant inequalities
• studying the higher incidence rate Māori experience with specific cancers compared to non-Māori
• identifying specific sets of issues experienced by Māori health service users
• investigating and critiquing the lower engagement rate for Māori with prevention, early detection, screening programmes, treatment, and medication
• looking at the role primary and health professionals play in improving cancer survival rates for Māori
• researching how to best design, develop, and roll-out an early detection and/or wellbeing programme
• identifying where whānau ‘touch’ the system to identify ‘moments of impact’ where bias (unconscious or deliberate) consistently occurs
• exploring a conceptual best practice whānau-centric model of cancer care.

For more details on the Inquiry please see the Māori Affairs Facebook page (link below).

Please send feedback to Leanne.Manson@nzno.org.nz by 13 September 2019 

The Ministry of Health has opened public consultation on the proposals for the medicinal cannabis regulations needed to support the Medicinal Cannabis Scheme. The Government has committed to establishing a Medicinal Cannabis Scheme to improve access to quality medicinal cannabis products.

The Scheme will do this through:

• enabling the commercial cultivation of medicinal cannabis and the manufacture of medicinal cannabis products in New Zealand
• setting standards for medicinal cannabis products so that medical practitioners can prescribe them with more confidence.

A regulatory system, with controls on the cultivation of cannabis and the manufacture and supply of medicinal cannabis products, is needed to support the Scheme. The regulations are being developed to establish the regulatory system.

Information about the Scheme is here: https://www.health.govt.nz/publication/medicinal-cannabis-scheme-consultation.

Please send feedback to Jill.wilkinson@nzno.org.nz by 31 July 2019