New Zealand's health system has learned and adjusted any failures its made during the Covid-19 pandemic, says the Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
His comments come after a report into the response to Covid-19 showed failures with the testing system and communication between the Ministry of Health and those working on the ground.
Bloomfield was quick to defend the health system’s response, saying it kicked into gear on an unprecedented scale and at speed to eliminate Covid-19.
“The response has not been without flaws, but the ministry and wider system have learnt, reviewed and adjusted along the way to continually improve our response.
“New Zealanders should have confidence that we have responded to four outbreaks since the Auckland August cluster without needing to change Alert Levels – this is a reflection of the strengthened systems that have adapted since the beginning of the pandemic.”
In a statement today, a Ministry of Health spokesperson says the 13 recommendations in the Surveillance and Testing Report have been addressed and actions have either already been implemented or are underway.
They say a response to the 15 recommendations in the Contact Tracing Addendum report is also underway.
Earlier today, Minister for Covid-19 Response Chris Hipkins also defended the health system’s Covid-19 response, saying it did the best it could in unprecedented times.
“When you look at the overall outcomes that we have achieved we can be proud of those. The report highlights where we could have done better — there’s no question the system has been learning as it’s been going along.”
Hipkins says they’ll continue to work on improving the system going forward.
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