PHO THINK Hauora Hosts Health Wānanga Focused On Enhancing Primary Health Care

Wednesday 10 April, 2024

Yesterday, over 100 health professionals came together for a wānanga (forum) hosted by THINK Hauora, the primary health organisation for MidCentral, supported by Collaborative Aotearoa. The day was focused on how the primary health sector can enhance General Practice for community health and wellbeing.

THINK Hauora CEO, Amarjit Maxwell, says the day provided a wonderful opportunity for General Practice kaimahi and our Central Region partners from throughout the MidCentral rohe and beyond, to come together to share knowledge and hear of the changes that others within the sector have made to help alleviate some of the many pressures being faced.

“I think everyone will be well aware of the many challenges facing General Practices across the country. From workforce shortages and funding to an increase in patient complexity amongst many others.

“Having a platform to share and explore enhancements being made across the General Practice model of care and their impact on communities has been valuable for everyone that was able to make it,” says Mrs Maxwell.

“Throughout the day we heard from General Practitioners, a Lived Experience advisor, People and Culture leaders from within General Practices, and kaimahi from both THINK Hauora and Collaborative Aotearoa all who spoke to various projects or journeys they had undertaken to improve outcomes for our whānau.”

“I would also like to acknowledge Ehsan Tehseen, our Network Sustainability Manager, who led a cross-functional team to create the event and make it exceptional, my full appreciation and kudos to him. As an organisation, we feel proud of this journey that we are on.”

Jess Morgan-French, Interim CEO of Collaborative Aotearoa, says it was a real pleasure to share the opportunity the health care home model of care poses to General Practices who are under compounding pressures.

“It’s been a real privilege to take the time to see, recognise and celebrate the actions of those who are using the model, and hopefully those who aren’t, can walk away from the day and look at how investing in modernised General Practice will enable us to have a sustainable and equitable health system for all.”

This event is hoped to be the first of many, says Amarjit Maxwell.

“THINK Hauora is committed to our vision of ‘Connecting Communities for Wellbeing’ and having a regular forum focussed on whanaungatanga and shared learnings. To bring not just the General Practice audience, but our iwi/Māori partners and community organisations into the same room together and hear of each other’s challenges and opportunities, will only be beneficial for our communities overall hauora.”

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