Trauma project - expressions of interest

The project is open to all services and patients and will prioritise improvements for those experiencing greater levels of unmet health need – as identified through data and lived experience. Our aim is to ensure everyone receives the support they need to recover well after leaving hospital. 

The project – ‘The path of making things right: Te ara whakatika’ – is from the Trauma National Clinical Network, a partnership between Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, ACC and Health Quality & Safety Commission Te Tāhū Hauora (the Commission).

• Māori under 65 – particularly young males (tāne), those living in the Northern region, and those involved in transport-related incidents – experience higher rates of major trauma. These patterns highlight opportunities to strengthen prevention and response approaches that are culturally grounded and community led.
• Māori models of health (hauora) have shown clear benefits in trauma recovery and rehabilitation but remain underused across services.
• Following severe traumatic brain injury, 52 percent of Māori and 56 percent of Pacific peoples do not currently access specialist community rehabilitation, compared with 40 percent of European/others. Although the prevalence of this disparity for Pacific peoples is higher, the volume of affected individuals is greater for Māori. These differences reflect systemic barriers in service access and design, not individual deficit. They highlight where unmet health need is greatest, and where targeted improvements are needed to uphold independence (mana motuhake) and support family (whānau) wellbeing.
• Although survival rates from acute trauma are strong, Māori continue to experience inequities in long-term recovery and overall health outcomes. Strengthening follow-up care that integrates Māori knowledge (mātauranga Māori) and community-based support offers an opportunity to improve health (hauora) across the continuum of care.
• In addition to quantitative data, the project will draw on lived experience and service use patterns to ensure responses are grounded in what matters most to patients (tūroro), family (whānau) and communities. 

Together, we aim to:

• co-design (mahitahi) and improve trauma services across New Zealand
• scale up successful interventions and apply them across other trauma services
• build sustainable, locally-led practices that reflect community needs.

We’re seeking local project teams of inpatient trauma and community rehabilitation provider services to take part.  

The project will bring together clinical, cultural, consumer and rehabilitation expertise to co-design (mahitahi), test and embed meaningful changes. 

While the project is inclusive of all trauma patients, it will focus on improving access and outcomes for those with greater unmet health need – particularly Māori. This approach ensures care that restores health (hauora), family (whānau) wellbeing, and independence (mana motuhake).

Improvements to care quality and access are in scope, but changes to ACC’s internal processes are not. The project focuses on service delivery within existing frameworks, guided by collaboration and co-design with stakeholders.