Growth brings new opportunities in 2022

Ehara taku toa i
te toa takitahi,
engari he toa
takitini.

My success is not mine alone, it is the success of the collective.

Ngā mihi o te tau hou ki a koutou katoa

The emergence of Omicron in our communities, along with the change in traffic light settings to ‘red’ brings another challenge to the beginning of a year the KPI Programme team had hoped would be different. As our sector engages in significant scenario planning to respond to all stages of the new outbreak, we are reminded of how it important it is to stand together. COVID-19 has continuously tested our ability to stay adaptive, keep learning and respond collectively. As a nationwide Programme, we regularly hear stories of teams, organisations and sectors coming together and generating new solutions to assist the wellbeing of our tāngata whai ora. We are aware of the large number of our workforce who are preparing to do whatever it takes to support their frontline colleagues and whānau.

Responding to these coming pressures, the KPI Programme team has been engaging with stream leads over the past couple of weeks to discuss priorities for 2022. We are learning how we can help sustain the progress made by Programme contributors in 2021. Overall, stream leads reinforced the need for the Programme to keep creating space for the sector to stay connected, energised and focused on the kaupapa of using data to inform the continuous improvement of our mental health and addiction services.

The KPI Programme Sponsor Group exists to provide advice and strategic oversight to the Programme and ensure its actions uphold the vision, mission and strategic direction as set by the sector. As a governing group, the sponsors have felt consistently encouraged by the gains made by the Programme throughout the pandemic.

Expansion of the Programme through new funding from the Ministry of Health has enabled the establishment and growth of new streams for Adult Forensic, Youth Forensic and NGOs. This expansion in the Programme’s reach, combined with the development of new data visualisation tools has accelerated its capacity to respond to sector aspirations. These aspirations are for indicators that not only reflect different populations, but build on each other to start telling the story of tāngata whai ora journeys through mental health and addiction services.

In 2022, the Programme will be continuing to help activate and encourage innovation. Just one of the innovations we will be following closely is the collaboration between Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Capital Coast, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs, the KPI Programme and CBG Health Research. This collaboration is going to explore, test and learn about how Mārama Real-Time Feedback data can be collected and integrated to provide a fuller picture of how tāngata whai ora and whānau experience 7-day follow-up care. The project signals an important step forward in creating tools that equip services to identify where attention is required to improve wellbeing outcomes for tāngata whai ora. It will also assist in helping us to monitor the effectiveness of continuous improvement actions.

Greater access to care in the community as well as person and whānau-centred care are critical components of both the upcoming health reforms and Kia Manawanui Aotearoa. Staying in-step with sector priorities, the first half of 2022 will see the Programme working with the sector to develop and deliver an NGO ‘continuity of care’ indicator and whānau engagement indicator data dashboards.

In addition to the new mahi and projects above, the KPI Programme will also continue to facilitate regular benchmarking events and refine and improve the existing data dashboard visualisations. The best way to stay updated on what’s happening in the Programme is to visit the Events calendar on the website and keep reading regular issues of The Indicator.

As they say – many hands make light work. The Programme is always keen to hear from people working across the sector who would like to contribute to our kaupapa. This kaupapa is to drive continuous improvement and equitable health outcomes for tāngata whai ora, whānau and communities through data and benchmarking. If you would like to find out how to become either a sponsor or stream lead, check out the expression of interest section below.

Although we cannot predict with certainty what 2022 will bring, we do know we remain united by a vision for an Aotearoa New Zealand health system where informed continuous improvement and collective action drives better wellbeing for all. We look forward to another year of working with you all and to bringing together diverse perspectives, new understandings and continuous improvements.

Ngā manaakitanga

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