Newborn Welcome Programme To Boost Enrolments And Immunisations

In what is a first for Southern, new parents and primary care givers in Otago and Southland will have a gift pack waiting for them at general practices when they enrol their newborn, encouraging them to enrol their baby early, setting them up for access to timely and long-term health support.

This incentive is part of a new WellSouth Newborn Enrolment Kahu Taurima Programme that aims to increase pēpi (newborn) enrolments, close the equity gap, increase 6-week immunisations and support general practices in Otago and Southland to achieve immunisation targets.

The newborn welcome packs have been delivered to 78 general practices in Otago and Southland by the local primary health organisation (PHO) for the Southern Region, WellSouth Primary Health Network.

WellSouth Pou Haumanu Māori - Clinical Advisor Māori, Dr Miriama Ketu-McKenzie says these early decisions are critical.

“Parents are often overwhelmed or have less trust or connection with general practice and health services, may not enrol their pēpi and as a result, can find it harder to keep up with immunisations and other important checks.

“These early days are critical for setting the conditions that will lead to lifelong good health outcomes. Having an incentive alongside helpful advice can encourage primary caregivers to enrol their baby as soon as possible and to book in for those important first health checks and immunisations,” she says.

“We know that the sooner we can get pēpi, and their whānau, into primary care, the better the long-term outcomes for that child, their whānau and for our communities more generally.”

How it works

When a birth occurs, primary care givers complete a pre-enrolment form for their pēpi nominating their preferred general practice. Following the pre-enrolment a National Immunisation Register (NIR) notification is sent to the general practice to notify the practice that they have been chosen by the primary care givers to enrol the newborn in their practice. However, for the enrolment to be completed, primary care givers need to take their pēpi into their general practice to complete the enrolment process.

New primary care givers will receive a programme information flyer during their baby’s first hearing test or upon discharge from a maternity unit, usually provided hours or days after birth, which lets them know a gift pack is waiting.

All 78 of the general practices across Otago and Southland are participating in the programme, ready to welcome primary care givers and their newborns with a gift pack.

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Dr Ketu-McKenzie says that for some Māori whānau, there may be hesitancy engaging with general practices. Therefore, the gift is designed with Māori in mind and consists of to a woven kete bag and a bilingual English and Te Reo Māori language baby book. The kete also contains a pack of biodegradable nappies and water wipes – supplied at low cost by New Zealand company, Terra.

“For those primary care givers identified as belonging to a priority population (e.g. community service card holders, Māori and Pacific whānau), we also offer a voucher to visit the GP for a wellbeing check for the new mum, or primary caregiver. Our WellSouth Pou Manaaki Call Centre will follow up with primary care givers from priority populations to support them to use the voucher and get important checks, which can range from physical health to maternal mental health.”

“Often, through the pēpi enrolment process, we discover that mum also needs support and can re-engage her into the health system.”

“Primary – and community care – should be the first port of call for whānau and not emergency departments when symptoms are serious and potentially long-lasting. To create a health system that people want to engage with, it’s vital for all of us – we at WellSouth, the general practices, the community healthcare providers – to collectively break down barriers to providing care when people need it.”

More about Immunisations

New Zealand's national immunisation goal is for 95% of children to be fully immunised by 24 months, with an incremental annual increase of 5% in coverage recommended to reach this target.

Health New Zealand is introducing new funding and performance targets for general practice in 2025/26 to reach this target. As well as supporting families, this WellSouth programme supports general practice to reach the targets and receive funding.

The 6-week immunisation is closely associated with on-time completion of the National Immunisation Schedule, which helps protect children against serious diseases. Free vaccinations are due at 6 weeks, 3 months, 5 months, 12 months, and 15 months, beginning with that first immunisation at six weeks.

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