Supporting the health of our community

Collective action to improve health outcomes for Kāpiti

This page outlines the work Council is undertaking in supporting the health and wellbeing of Kāpiti residents.

Supporting healthy, sustainable growth and urban development 

As a growing district, we need to ensure we have the right infrastructure in place to support our increasing population. Along with physical infrastructure like roads, public transport and water supplies, this also includes social infrastructure  -  things like housing, access to good food, social support and connection to things that you value have important consequences for people’s health and overall wellbeing. This is woven into our strategic framework which means that we take every opportunity we can to support policies and actions that improve the health and wellbeing of our communities – even when health isn’t the primary focus of the work.

The Council's role in supporting improved health outcomes

The health sector is complex. Council has a role in bringing a local voice to advocate for health services needed for our population. This has become even more important following the disestablishment of District Health Boards.

We have a role under legislation in many areas that relate to the health of our people (for example considering and protecting people’s health and wellbeing in Resource Management, food safety regulation, granting alcohol licensed and providing infrastructure that supports public health and wellbeing).  

Key areas where Council supports the health of our community include:

  • Community engagement: Local councils can engage with residents to understand local health concerns and priorities, facilitating communication between the community and Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora. 
  • Planning and policy development: Councils can contribute to local health plans by identifying areas for improvement and advocating for policies that support healthy living and accessibility for people, including those with disabilities.
  • Environmental health: Local councils manage aspects of environmental health, such as food safety, water quality, and pest control, which contribute to overall population health.
  • Community facilities and services: Council works to ensure community facilities and services are accessible to people with disabilities, including parks, recreation centres, and public transport.

Read more about Council’s work in these areas:

Community concern highlights changes needed

We know our communities are worried about the lack of availability and access to affordable health services. Feedback from visioning work with the community highlighted concerns about gaps in health services in Kāpiti .

Current challenges

  • Access to primary care (GPs): Kāpiti has 14 GP clinics but 9 of them are not accepting new patients. Visits can be expensive for people on a fixed or lower income.
  • Access to hospital and specialist services: Travel time to hospitals or specialist services not available locally can be difficult, especially for people with additional challenges such as disability.
  • Access to urgent or emergency care: After hours services are limited to one clinic (which closes at 8pm) and Healthline. There are no emergency care providers (emergency departments)  based in Kāpiti but the ambulance diversion service has helped avoid people being taken to hospital when an urgent service can be provided by a primary care provider.
  • Access to mental health care: It can be hard to access crisis services and there is a lack of accessible specialist services. People are not sure how to get help.
  • Limited care for people with disabilities: A lack of residential and specialist services locally.
  • Limited local care for older people: We have a high number of people over 65 years who may need more access to local care than others.
  • A changing population: We are seeing increasing diversity, and an aging population, which changes what the needs of our people look like. Service access needs to keep pace with this changing need.

Strategy aims to improve health outcomes in Kāpiti

One of Council’s  strategic priorities is to shape the design of a health strategy for our district to improve coordination and service provision that meets local need. The Council is developing a strategy to bring a sharper focus to the work we do in this area and how we plan to work together with others in the health sector to address local needs.

We want to look across the spectrum of health services from health promotion and illness prevention, through primary care (GPs etc), secondary care (hospital and specialist services), and tertiary care (specialist and residential services) to understand what we need to improve first.

Action underway

We are working on developing the full Health Strategy to give more detail on what our community needs in health and what the work to improve health outcomes could focus on.

Timeline

  • Early 2023: The need for a health strategy was identified through the Council visioning process. A Health Strategy would provide a future high-level direction for the community and how the district’s many health challenges will be managed and prioritized. 
  • 2023/24 Annual Plan – top 10 priorities for the year includes ‘Shape the design for a health strategy to create more coordination and more services’:
    • Take a lead advocacy role in local health, along with the community and iwi
    • Map local health need
    •  Develop local solutions to health services
    • Set a health strategy.
  • March 2024: Council consulted on Health Strategy - Direction of Travel
  • Strategy development paused to allow for further stakeholder engagement and local government elections
  • Feb 2026: Proposed strategy consultation.

We have project underway to deliver a Social Needs Assessment for the Kāpiti district. This is a multi-year project about working collaboratively to understand social and unmet needs and assessing outcomes, including gathering data deliver data-driven decision making, collaboration and advocacy.

The Kāpiti Health Advisory Group (KHAG) works with Council to make health services easier to get for everyone in Kāpiti. The group gives advice to Council’s Social Sustainability Committee on health and wellbeing issues, especially related to Council’s Health Strategy. They also suggest ways Council can work with others to make health services better for the community. Kāpiti Health Advisory Group - Kāpiti Coast District Council.

 Engagement with central government and health sector partners

  • Council is advocating for our community’s concerns in health related areas through submissions into central government policy and legislative proposals, supported by the Kāpiti Health Advisory Group’s advice and engagement with the community.
  • Council is building relationships with health sector partners to support collaborative and integrated service planning discussions that are critical to ensuring our local need is being catered for in the short, medium and long term.