Great day for Māngere

Māngere Integrated Community Healthcare (MICH) Project

Media Statement
For Immediate Release

Great day for Māngere

On 31 March 2008 a new governance and leadership group to develop community healthcare in Māngere met for the first time. They have been selected to take action on the way Māngere health care services are developed into the future.

They are pictured below with members of an interim planning group who have scoped the way forward with a strong focus on enabling the people of Māngere to own their own health and work together to improve the general wellness of the community overall.

“It’s a bold initiative” said Tony Spelman, Chair of the Planning Group. “It has come about largely in response to the people of Māngere saying it is time to exercise more community leadership in the way healthcare is delivered.”

“While the Māngere Integrated Community Health project is about the delivery of Healthcare, it is also about the way related activity that goes on in schools, churches, government agencies and NGOs is coordinated as well. This is what makes it complex but it is a piece of work whose time has come” said Tony.

Counties Manukau District Health Board Director of Primary Care Development is delighted with developments thus far. Dr Allan Moffitt said “In the past we have seen the community as an important participant in the whole process but now the community will operate as the principal stakeholder and through that relationship we should be able to better understand how to support individuals and groups more effectively through the provision of better professional healthcare and related services.”

“We have a very comprehensive and inclusive framework that will inform developments,” said Allan. “It is one that will positively encourage Tangata Whenua and the full range of diverse cultures, critical to understanding health, to operate in ways that will benefit the people of Māngere.”

Counties Manukau District Health Board is the sponsor of this work and is keen to support its further development as well as encouraging the support of Government agencies, NGOs and other community-based organisations. The members of the governance and leadership group have begun the process of engaging the work undertaken so far and look forward to announcing further details around the future work programme towards the end of April.

The members of the Leadership and Governance Group for the Māngere Integrated Community Health Project are:

ENDS

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