A new partnership through telehealth between iwi and Māori health providers aims to deliver more equitable outcomes for whānau in Te Arawa, Heretaunga and Ngāpuhi.

Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi, Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, Te Arawa Lakes Trust and Whakarongorau Aotearoa New Zealand Telehealth Services came together during the Covid-19 pandemic to help their communities.

The partnership, Taki o Autahi, was formalised on Friday at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds.

A collaborative effort saw the telehealth providers make more than 275,000 outbound calls related to vaccine hesitancy, resulting in vaccine bookings 53% of the time.

READ MORE:
* South Auckland healthcare providers welcome $140 million Omicron funding package
* Low vaccine rates a symptom of health system failures and incomplete data
* Covid-19: Northland vaccination rates ‘low’, Māori communities urged to get jabbed

The work has resulted in the creation of 300 jobs and injected over $15 million into regional economies since 2021.

Te Arawa Lakes Trust chief executive officer Karen Vercoe said the partnership was a significant step forward in achieving better outcomes for whānau.

“This builds on our initial mahi to deliver healthline services, including the Covid line, from Rotorua. Our local centre has created 106 jobs, many for whānau who had lost employment during New Zealand’s Covid response,” she said.

“Since our Waea Mai call centre went live in August last year immediately before the Delta lockdown, our kaimahi have received and made more than 275,852 calls with whānau to provide Covid information and vaccination support.”

Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi chief executive officer Tia Ashby said by Māori for Māori initiatives have proven to be successful for the local community.

“This whakatauki speaks about the partnership between the iwi-affiliate and Māori providers and Whakarongorau that were formed in a time of need and required high trust to be successful,” she said.

“The willingness of all parties to come together and collaborate with one goal in mind, supporting the hauora of Māori, communities and Aotearoa as a whole, speaks to its strength.

“A pandemic sewed this partnership together, but it has shown many social, health and material benefits. This is a tremendous opportunity and the economic outcomes we need for underserved communities like Kaikohe,” Ashby said.

Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi has employed 115 people in Kaikohe and 90% of them had never held a job before.

Whakarongorau Aotearoa New Zealand Telehealth Services chief executive officer Andrew Slater said Taki o Autahi will help achieve its goal of giving everyone in Aotearoa the opportunity for wellness.

“We have been on a journey with Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi, Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga and Te Arawa Lakes Trust to reach some of Aotearoa’s most underserved communities,” he said.

“It has shown that when our respective skills and resources are truly, equitably and fairly shared, the health and wellbeing of individuals and whole communities benefit.”