Political parties should reach bipartisan agreement on how much money will be spent on child health services, a draft Southern District Health Board submission on the green paper on vulnerable children says.
The draft submission, prepared by Public Health South, will be discussed at today's joint disability support and community and public health committee.
The Government is seeking submissions on its green paper, which aims to reduce child abuse and improve child health.
"We would support a review of funding allocations and relative poverty and believe this should be done as a matter of urgency and actions agreed across the political spectrum," the draft submission said.
The ageing population would increase competition for public health services. Existing child health services should be improved, rather than introducing wholesale change to them, the draft submission said.
A "community development" approach, whereby government and community agencies worked together and pooled funding, was part of the answer, it said.
It also supported a national database with the health details of "transient children" and the sharing of information at a "certain level" across child services.
