The parties note the bipartite relationship between Te whatu Ora, Te Aka Whai Ora, the Council of Trade Union and health sector unions which is based on He Ara Tapatahi and Kāhui Kōkiri engagement processes. The parties further note that these parties and processes are successors to the Health Sector Relationship Agreement and its outcomes which includes the Time for Quality Document. Consistent with this relationship the principles of engagement are as follows:
- Employee/management partnership is founded on teamwork and respect.
- Managers will support employees to provide leadership in service design, configuration and best practice service delivery.
- Managers will support employees to ensure recognised competency and credentialing standards are met.
- Managers and employees affirm that quality care drives the system to optimise patient outcomes.
- Managers and employees will collaborate to meet both the “patient test” and the “whanau test” which means the patient experience is optimised for the patient and in a culturally appropriate way.
- Managers and employees explicitly agree that decision-making and responsibility will be devolved to the appropriate level.
- Managers and employees accept that there will be some services that can more appropriately be delivered regionally or nationally to effectively meet patient needs.
- Employees will support managers to operate services within the resources available.