NGOs and the Health Practioners Competancy Assurance Act

Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act and the Disability Mental Health & Addictions NGO Sector

The Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act (2003) introduced a new process whereby health professionals required to demonstrate competency in their scope of practice before an annual practicing certificate is issued.

Much of the thinking about how this process works was based on the assumption that most health professionals are located in the public health system and so the implications for non government employers and employees were really very unclear.

Representatives from Platform, IDEA Services (a division of IHC) and Healthcare New Zealand worked together to understand the implications of the Act for non government providers. 

The report provides background about the Government's direction and outlines the roles and requirements of the registering authorities. It also identifies the concerns of the sector that include such major issues as the cost of compliance, the tension of the current contracting framework and the impact that funded pay settlements for nurses are having on the community sector.

The Ministry of Health has prepared a survey document they believe will identify any issues and potential solutions. The survey is yet another lengthy set of questions that bear no relationship to the issues NGOs are experiencing with the Act. This link will take you to the review of this legislation being undertaken by the Ministry of Health.