By Hayley Redpath

Next Wednesday Turanganui Primary Health Organisation will learn if a proposal for a new-look primary health care system in Gisborne gets the green light.

The Ministry of Health invited Expressions of Interest from primary health care providers showing how they could provide services closer to home, make Kiwis healthier, and reduce pressure on hospitals. 

Seventy-four proposals were received before the cut off date.

Turanganui PHO was involved in a proposal from ‘Midlands’ made up of four District Health Board areas: Tairawhiti, Lakes, Waikato and Taranaki.

Representatives from the primary health organisations and or their owners, including Pinnacle, submitted the proposal two weeks ago.

While much of the proposal has yet to be publically released, the model is based around ensuring that effective 'Duty of Care' is present for all health services. The model includes nine planned integrated family health centres across the ‘Midland’ region to be established in the first 12 months with more to follow.  Gisborne General Practitioners received a briefing on the proposal last week.

Back in September Health Minister Tony Ryall released a review of the New Zealand health system called Meeting the Challenge. It had a number of ramifications for Primary Health Organisations and according to some marked the beginning of the most significant health reforms since the establishment of District Health Boards in 2001.

The report made 170 recommendations for change in its aim to improve the population’s health, enhance the patient experience of care, and control per capita health care costs.  The call for Expressions of Interest followed.

At time of writing, an expert panel advising the Health Ministry is considering the proposals. The nine panel members are:

 • Fepulea’i Margie Apa (chair), the deputy director-general of the ministry's directorate of sector capability and innovation
• Mike Grant, MidCentral DHB’s general manager of planning and funding
• Peter Jansen, former GP and now ACC’s senior medical advisor
• Denise Kivell, director of nursing at Counties Manukau DHB
• Paul McCormack, private health consultant and former GP who was Pegasus Health’s general manager until the end of last year
• Jim Primrose, the ministry’s chief advisor on primary healthcare
• Shankar Sankaran, an Auckland geriatrician who is clinical head of community geriatric services at Middlemore Hospital
• Jonathan Simon, a west Auckland GP
• Sally Webb, a private consultant and coach who was Kawerau PHO’s chair until the beginning of this year.

Turanganui PHO will know whether the Midlands proposal has been successful on Wednesday 4 November. If successful, work will then begin on a Business Case due back at the Ministry of Health in February.

By Helen Peterson

Turanga Health’s newest nurse will travel back to her homeland in Samoa as a volunteer nurse to help care for those worst affected by the recent tsunami. 

Celia Letufuga joined Turanga Health in September as a Tamariki Ora nurse but the job will take a “back seat” for two weeks because Celia feels deeply drawn back to Samoa.

Tsunami spares family

It’s not just to see her 84-year-old mother, sister and other extended family members, but to also offer practical assistance to her people, many of whom are rebuilding their shattered lives.

Fortunately Celia’s family, who live in the Western Samoan village of Samatau, were not devastated by the tsunami.

“When I spoke to my mother just after the disaster she sounded very calm and this was comforting,” says Celia.

“She has a strong Christian faith and this has provided her with the strength to look forward to the future.”

On the morning of the tsunami her mother had been taken into town early for a doctor’s appointment. The water infiltrated a plantation that grows close to her house but came no further. Celia’s family is safe and well.

Early days

In 1976 Celia left Samoa and headed to New Zealand. She was initially in Wellington but for the past 29 years has lived in Gisborne and immersed herself in the community.

She has turned her hand to a wide variety of jobs including working at Watties, running the Gisborne Hospital laundry, assisting intellectually handicapped people to live independently, and promoting cervical screening for Pacific Island women. 

In the early 2000s Celia decided to pursue a career as a nurse. After graduating in 2007 she worked as a registered nurse at Dunblane, and joined Turanga Health in September. 

Well Child

Her new role as a Tamariki Ora nurse provides the ideal opportunity to help local families to adopt positive lifestyle choices that will benefit their children. Although the job is viewed as similar to that of a mainstream Plunket Nurse, there is more to it. 

Tamariki Ora nurses visit new parents in their homes to do Well Child health and development checks until a child turns five. They also help arrange immunisation appointments. This includes supplying transport to and from those appointments.

Child health and safety promotion, including the supply and use of approved child seats, is a key focus as well as on-going support for the wider whanau. Advocacy is a key component of the job.

At present Celia is encouraging a young mother to obtain her driver’s licence so she can transport her family into town for appointments. It is all about helping families to gain independence, she says.

Antenatal classes are also run by the Tamariki Ora service and the next six-week course will start in November.

Celia departs for Samoa on December 14.