Pacific profiles: Pioneering health practitioner Aseta Redican

The Spinoff

4 hours ago

The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Aseta Redican.
All photos by Geoffery Matautia.
Aseta Redican (ONZM) was the first Pacific person to become a New Zealand-qualified physiotherapist and went on to pioneer significant initiatives for Pacific peoples in the health sector, including being the first General Manager of Pacific Health for the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) from 2001 until her retirement in 2009. Aseta, now in her eighties, is a proud great-grandparent who remains active and involved in her community.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Aseta Redican. I was born in Samoa, and I'm one of 11 siblings. My father's name is Okesene which means oxygen because he was a breath of life for his community. My siblings' names are Karaponi (carbon), Naitorosene (nitrogen), Osone (ozone), Okesaita (oxide), Aseta (acid), Kuripitone (krypton), Sioutu (CO2 or carbon dioxide), Alakalini (alkaline), Atimosefia (atmosphere) and Neone (neon).
I came to New Zealand in 1956 when I was just 14. I got a scholarship through the Samoan government along with a handful of other students. We left in January on Teal Airline and cried on the plane all the way to Auckland. We were all so overwhelmed! Early the next morning, another girl and I were dispatched to a boarding school in Stratford, Taranaki. Went down via train and cried all the way! We hardly spoke any English, and we weren't allowed to speak Samoan. I remember that everyone spoke so fast. Our teachers used to say, 'Why are these girls so slow?' but they didn't realise we were trying to interpret it all in real time. It was hard. We weren't allowed to go home to Samoa during the break, and we couldn't spend the holidays with any family in New Zealand. We had to go wherever they sent us. The only way to keep up the [Samoan] language was by writing letters.
Were you interested in sports at school?
I loved sports in Samoa, and I found that was the one thing I was good at here. I dedicated my time to sports. My schoolwork wasn't doing well, but I was in all the teams – tennis, basketball, hockey. Playing sports helped me gain confidence.
What sparked your interest in pursuing physiotherapy? I can only assume it wasn't that mainstream back in the 1960s.
As I came to New Zealand on a scholarship, the Samoan government had to approve what work we could pursue once we left school. They wanted us to become doctors, lawyers, accountants and teachers, but none of that was for me. I wanted to be in health because I saw my parents do that, but I didn't want to be a doctor or nurse. I asked if I could be a physical education teacher, and the Samoan government refused.
I only discovered physiotherapy because a notice went up at the school that our former head girl had topped a physio course. I remembered her being a great sportswoman and that's when I decided to find out what physiotherapy was. It combined my two loves, sports and health. Physiotherapy had been around for some time, but it was definitely new for us as Pacific peoples.
Tell me what it was like to study in Dunedin at the time.
It was difficult. Everything was strange. You were on your own, and I always felt that everyone there was so much smarter than me. I was surrounded by all these farmers' daughters, lawyers' daughters and so on. There were no other Pacific Island students in my course, and only three non-Pākehā students.
What happened once you graduated?
When I graduated, I spent a year in Auckland Hospital, then I returned to Samoa. I thought I was going into a physio department but that didn't exist. No one was sure what to do with me. I didn't want to just be wandering around, so I got to work on creating my own space.
I became friends with the matron, and she helped me find a room and team up with two ladies who had worked in the physiotherapy department in Hawaii. Together, we got ourselves some equipment and put systems in place. The problem was that everyone who came into the hospital was sent to me. You have to remember there were no GPs in the islands. If you fell sick, you went to the hospital. I had to put my foot down and say my department is not a dumping ground! So, I set up a referral system like we have in New Zealand. I got some kick back from the clinicians, but little by little they came round once they realised it was a good way of doing things.
You were awarded an Order of the New Zealand Merit for your services to Pacific peoples and healthcare in 2020. Could you tell me about some of the initiatives and roles you helped spearhead?
I worked at the National Women's Hospital in the antenatal unit, then at Cornwall Hospital, and then I set up my practice within a private hospital. In these spaces, I saw some of the wider issues affecting our Pacific peoples in the healthcare system. I'd often get asked why Pacific people would overrun our emergency departments, and I had to explain that in Samoa, and I'm sure in other islands, families didn't have GPs. I also saw that departments were getting our cleaners and orderlies to act as interpreters for Pacific patients. I took these issues to a Pasifika organisation to get them to follow through to get interpreting services in our hospitals.
Physiotherapy allowed me to know how to navigate the system, and I wanted my community to know how to do that. I changed my focus from treating an individual to working with communities. Fortuitously, a role at the Heart Foundation came up to lead the Pacific Island Heartbeat programme. I got the role, and my team and I engaged with our community to talk to them about heart health, exercise and diet.
Later on, there was another major healthcare restructuring, and I became the first General Manager of Pacific Health for the Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) when hospital boards were dismantled. I saw this as an opportunity to establish more Pacific providers in our healthcare system so that we could be in the driver's seat. We ran courses for people to come along and learn how to become a provider. Within that, we helped set up groups such as South Seas Healthcare, Fono Health, the Tongan Health Society and the Pacific Medical Association. I didn't want our people to be left behind. What's funny, though, is how much things still hadn't changed. When I got that role in 2001, I remember being in a senior management meeting and people asked why we needed a general manager for Pacific Health!
You retired in 2009, but are you still involved in the healthcare space? Also, how do you like to keep active?
I love walking, and I like to get out into the garden. I now have two great-grandchildren who keep me active because they're always running around. Having my family around helps a great deal. I'm still involved with the Pacific Physiotherapy Association, and I've been assisting them with their organisational strategy, building their visibility, and getting them a website so more people know about the work they do. It's given me a new lease of life and I thank the Lord for bringing me back to where I started.
*After the interview, Aseta's granddaughter told me that their family is doing a step challenge and that Aseta regularly gets in more steps than anyone else.
This is Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ On Air.