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Waikato's B4 School Checks On Track
Waikato's B4 School Checks On Track
Waikato's B4 School Checks went live five months ago and those leading out the project are optimistic of a good outcome for the region's four-year-olds.
Waikato has the fifth largest eligible population for the B4 School programme (locally dubbed The Very Important project or Tino Whakahirahira) with 4957 children.
"In contrast to most other DHBs, we decided to deliver B4 School Checks via primary care because its predecessor Fit 4 School in the Waikato was a highly effective programme for delivering health checks to children," said Planning and Funding general manager Brett Paradine.
"Pinnacle Incorporated endorsed the programme and fully supports the strategies in place to improve the delivery and uptake of the checks," said Pinnacle chief executive John Macaskill-Smith.
"We now have 8000 children assigned to a nurse who will be coordinating their journey through the important four-year-old checks."
He said the numbers were beginning to look encouraging for widespread coverage, and since go-live date on 14 February:
* 1300 B4 School checks are completed or are
underway
* 140 early childcare centres visited, engaged
and are on board; and
* 4000 vision and hearing checks
completed by vision and hearing technicians.
"We wanted to be different * to turn this project into a truly 'no child left behind' strategy with real outcomes for children, and made enrolment our focus," said Pinnacle's director of nursing Hilary Graham-Smith.
"In the Waikato, the B4 School database was set up in such a way that children who are not receiving services can be tracked and traced and the appropriate support and interventions put in place.
"Public health nurses are also working hard to locate children who are not enrolled with a general practitioner and following up those children with a high 'did not attend' rate."
She said the Waikato team is being bold in its enrolment aims, endeavouring to have 100 per cent of four-year-olds enrolled with a doctor and 100 per cent of B4 School participants enrolled with the School Dental Service and armed with a library card before turning five.
"Interagency collaboration is playing a huge part in the delivery of the Very Important Project in the Waikato," said Mr Macaskill-Smith.
"The primary health sector and Health Waikato teamed up with the libraries and Ministry of Education, and placed an educational liaison in the community to work with all early childcare centres.
"By giving primary care a chance to lead this programme, the Minister is reinforcing his messages around clinical leadership and primary care stepping up to meet the challenge * and we have every intention of doing so."
ENDS
Waikato District Health Board
Healthy People. Excellent Care
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) employs over 6500 people and plans, funds and provides hospital and health services to more than 391,770 people in a region covering eight per cent of New Zealand.
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