The Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry (Wai 2575) will hear all claims concerning grievances relating to health services and outcomes and which are of national significance.
Inquiry progress
In December 2017, the Tribunal confirmed that the Wai 2575 Inquiry would proceed on a phased and thematic basis, with health-related issues heard in stages according to priority:
- Stage one, which concluded in March 2019, inquired into aspects of primary care
- Stage two covers three priority areas encompassing Māori with disabilities, mental health (including suicide and self-harm), and issues of alcohol, tobacco, and substance abuse
- Stage three will focus on remaining themes of national significance, including eligible historical claims
Stage one
The stage one inquiry was a discrete and targeted inquiry into the legislative and policy framework of the primary healthcare system. The inquiry was presided over by Judge Stephen Clark. Those proceedings were confined to hearing the Māori Primary Health Organisations & Providers (Wai 1315) and the National Hauora Coalition (Wai 2687) claims. Interested parties were also granted varying degrees of participation in the inquiry.
Following hearings held from 2018 to 2019, the Tribunal released its pre-publication version of Hauora – the Report on Stage One of the Health Services and Outcomes Kaupapa Inquiry (the Hauora Report) on 1 July 2019.
The final version of the Hauora Report was released on 19 October 2021, following a two-year period in which parties reported back to the Tribunal regarding progress on the implementation of its interim recommendations.