Thousands In The South Benefiting From CPCT

More than 6,600 people so far across Southland and Otago have benefited from a nationwide programme called Comprehensive Primary & Community Care Teams (or CPCT), which offers free care for those in need.

This is according to a new evaluation report by WellSouth, the primary health organisation (PHO) for Southland and Otago, which facilitates the Health New Zealand-funded programme locally.

Established to improve equity of access and health outcomes, particularly for Māori, Pacific, and rural peoples, the report shows CPCT is doing its job.

In just 12 months, 6,672 people have had help from teams in Southland and Otago. Over a fifth were Māori, with a similar proportion of Pacific Peoples, two groups who are historically less likely to connect with primary care.

WellSouth CEO, Andrew Swanson-Dobbs, says the evaluation report shows CPCT improves access to care and plugs gaps in current provision.

“Our team spoke to patients and staff involved with the programme, and the results show many benefits, from making a real difference to people’s lives and their long-term engagement with health services generally, to freeing up GP capacity, to building better relationships between teams and providers.”

The evaluation showed improved long-term condition management, reductions in hospital readmissions, decreased social isolation, and increased health literacy. Practices involved in CPCT also saw a statistically significant increase in preventive care such as immunisations and cardiovascular risk assessments.

In terms of workforce, CPCT provided for 17.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff across 37 locations, some at general practices, some at community providers and some across both. CPCT Teams include care coordinators, clinical pharmacists, physiotherapists and kaiāwhina, who often visit people at home.

Mr Swanson-Dobbs says CPCT teams also strengthen partnerships between local community providers and general practices that are in a CPCT geographic cluster.

“Relationships and partnerships have been instrumental to the success of this initiative, and we are incredibly grateful to all the staff and providers who are part of making this work.

“These multidisciplinary teams are providing support well beyond traditional clinical care, including health education, social support and system navigation.”

The report shows that WellSouth’s role has been central to the success of CPCT in the South, with the evaluation highlighting the PHO’s support in enabling collaboration, offering workforce development funding, and providing strategic and practical guidance for new initiatives.

“As a PHO, we’re proud to have facilitated the connections, trust and flexibility needed for this to thrive,” says Mr Swanson-Dobbs.

Funded by Health New Zealand, CPCT was designed to strengthen primary and community care by embedding new roles into general practice teams. WellSouth was contracted to roll out CPCT across the Southern region, and brought together general practices, Māori and Pacific providers into local clusters to deliver care.

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