Te Umanga Whakaora Accelerated Māori Occupational Therapy Workforce Development Strategy, and action plan.
Te Rau Matatini, Wellington
3-4pm, Tuesday 18 August 2009
Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga on behalf of
Hon Tariana Turia, Associate Minister of Health

I was delighted to accept the invitation from Haydon Wano, as Chair; and Kirsty Maxwell-Crawford, Chief Executive of Te Rau Matatini, to be involved in the development of such an exciting strategy as Te Umanga Whakaora.

In fact, I have such a strong belief in the significance of this strategy, that I was happy to put my name in print, in terms of the foreword to this resource.

For a start, I know that anything with the Te Rau Matatini brand brings with it the commitment for a well trained health workforce that can relate to tangata whenua and the context in which they live their lives.

Te Rau Matatini is devoted to Maori workforce development across all spheres of influence.

And so I am not at all surprised, that in putting this strategy together Te Rau Matatini worked in consultation with Māori occupational therapy practitioners, tangata whaiora, occupational therapists, training providers, the New Zealand Association of Occupational Therapists and the Occupational Therapy Board of New Zealand.

I know that there are representatives of all of these groups here today, and so I thank you all for the breadth of your vision; the strength of your support.

The challenge you set out on, in developing a framework and action plan for developing the Māori occupational therapy health workforce, was not an easy one by any means.

As with most areas of health, demand far exceeds the supply.

Māori are presenting to disability services at higher rates at 24% of disability compared to non-Māori at 17%.

But while there continues to be significant under-representation of Māori practitioners across the health and disability sector, it is particularly marked in the occupational therapy workforce.

While Maori make up approximately 5.7% of the health workforce, in 2008 a mere two percent of the 2159 registered occupational therapists were Maori.

And that’s not all. Indications show a large number of Māori occupational therapists are not staying in the profession.

Te Umanga Whakaora is thus a vital tool to help address such critical workforce shortages in occupational therapy – to create momentum. We desperately need to encourage more Māori to stay working in Occupational Therapy and at the same time to entice more Maori into the profession.

That is why I got so excited about this strategy – because it is a strategy which starts off with the concept of acceleration.

We would usually use the word acceleration in reference to a vehicle – the state of increasing the motion, speeding up the action.

Or we might use it in the terms of academic acceleration – the advancement of students at a rate which places them ahead of where they might normally be in a school curriculum.

With the launch of Te Umanga Whakaora – it’s all of the above.

I have every expectation that Te Umanga Whakaora is a vehicle for change that will have an immediate impact on the practises of managers, funders and planners, health service providers, and other decision makers throughout the health sector. Uptake and utilisation of this document is critical.

But the vehicle will travel outside of conventional health boundaries as well. We expect that educational institutions, iwi and Māori organisations, schools, teachers, students and whānau must all feel the benefit of the strategies outlined.

And while we’re not boy racers, we’re definitely not prepared to travel in the slow lane, to see the difference we need to see.

We must see immediate improvement in the development of Maori responsive services –services that allow us to go further, discover more, deliver more and be better than ever before.

We need to see progress, swiftly and surely.

That’s why I’m so pleased that the Workforce Development Strategy is associated with a pragmatic Action Plan – a plan which provides the objectives and actions that are required to implement this strategic framework.

And so, with the launch of Te Umanga Whakaora today, we also kickstart momentum into the principal areas of recruitment and retention, cultural competency and best practice.

The action is not just about tactics and techniques, putting the fun back into functional.

Of course the occupational challenge of increasing the quality of life by helping people to overcome barriers, to strengthen their movement with limited assistance, is a key goal of the therapist.

In a former life, many years ago, I had the privilege of working in occupational therapy with some of our elders in a local hospital. I loved the experience - the satisfaction of increasing movement, keeping the fingers nimble, the mind alert.

I remember that when I left that position, they all got out their crocheting hooks and made me this stunning blanket.

But long before the days of cost efficiency and value for money exercises, the hospital made a fuss, claiming that the wool they had used was donated and should stay in the ward!. Never one to be outdone by a challenge, we decided to auction the blanket instead, and wouldn't you know - I won it anyway!

Of course, a great occupational therapist is always to make you feel like you're the winner, whatever challenge you face.

Competent occupational therapists will always focus not just on the capabilities of the individuals but the abilities that make that individual who they are. In other words, while the capacity to be involved in meaningful activity is important, so too is the recognition of the wide range of capabilities, knowledge and strengths each individual brings to any event.

But with Te Umanga Whakaora, the expectation is even higher, the accelerated learning approach setting up the aspiration for occupational therapists to be culturally competent as well.

The interpretation of Te Umanga Whakaora provided by Professor Taiarahia Black suggests that occupational therapists should strive to be ‘resourceful, helpful and supportive, to enhance wellbeing’.

And when we think wellbeing in a tangata whenua context, we think whanau.

Cultural competency in the field of Maori occupational therapy will be seen when whanau are able to access and use healthcare service to access and use healthcare services to achieve the health outcomes they want.

These outcomes can be achieved by more responsive and meaningful relationships between health professionals and whanau.

Whanau ora, at its purest form, is about having the ability to transform lives, to enable us to be in control of our lives, instead of being told how to be.

It’s about being proud of our families, proud of our people, and knowing that nothing will stand in the way of us being the best people that we can.

If Occupational Therapists are able to respect whānau knowledge and experience, they will be in a much stronger position, to assist and be supportive, thereby encouraging whānau development.

The challenge of deciding the appropriate pathways towards recovery is often enhanced with whānau support. It’s about maximising the participation of tangata whaiora and their whānau, especially within the whānau context.

And it’s about never settling for second best, just getting by.

That is why this strategy seeks to accelerate workforce development.

It’s about bringing everything together, the rich catch of He Kupenga, the fishing net, over-brimming with techniques, tools and talents to mobilise the best opportunities for our whanau.

You may have heard of a saying from Zimbabwe, “If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing”.

That is why we are calling for Maori leadership in health; to bring about the fullest range of opportunities for whanau ora.

We are calling for more responsive services in mainstream; effective and sustainable relationships across the health sector and beyond; and a gold standard benchmark of cultural competency in all practices – so that we can both dance and sing.

I absolutely expect that both the vision and leadership that currently exists within the Occupational Therapy profession and wider health sector will take up the challenge put by Te Umanga Whakaora.

By enhancing Māori occupational therapy leadership, there will be stronger advocacy and support for the specific Māori interventions within the sector.

There must be the development opportunities available to health professionals and they need the support of employers to complete them. This investment in the Māori health workforce will improve the quality of services available to whānau and contribute to whānau ora.

In turn, this will influence other Māori to join and stay within the profession, which will lead a better quality and more responsive services for whānau.

Whether they are working in the health sector or are seeking health services, Maori are entitled to the benefits of a workforce that values and promotes concepts, values and ways of thinking in te ao Māori.

Te Umanga Whakaora is an excellent resource to help the occupational therapy workforce make a real difference for those seeking a pathway towards whānau ora.

We must turn the words into actions, the commitments into contexts that work – and then it’s full steam ahead.

It is with pleasure that I formally launch the Maori Occupational Therapy Workforce Development Strategy - Te Umanga Whakaora.

ENDS