Latest news with #PHO
Scoop
6 days ago
- Health
- Scoop
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.
RNZ News
14-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Vaccine hesitancy growing in at-risk communities, providers blame social media misinformation
Janice Kuka, left, and Jackie Davis of Ngā Mataapuna Oranga PHO, which has managed to boost immunisation rates in the face of soical media minisformation Photo: Supplied / Janice Kuka A growing number of families living in communities most vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks are refusing to have their children vaccinated . Immunisation experts fear this worrying trend will make it impossible to reach the government's target of 95 percent coverage by 2030. At Ngā Mataapuna Oranga primary health organisation in Western Bay of Plenty, health workers are not passively waiting for whānau to bring their babies in for vaccination. A manager and kaiwhakahaere, Jackie Davis, said it had managed to boost immunisation rates by 10 percent in the last year through the heroic efforts of nurses, community workers and GPs. "[We've even had] community teams lurking in bushes, waiting to ambush mums coming home from shopping," she said wryly. In a league table of primary health organisations (PHOs) published by Health NZ, Ngā Mataapuna Oranga has the highest decline rate, with 25 percent of families refusing immunisation. As a small PHO, with just four general practices, it only took a handful of families to decline immunisation to drop its rates below target, Davis pointed out. However, she admitted it was up against persistent anti-vaccination propaganda, which spreaded like contagion via social media . "I guess their promotion is just as good as our promotions are, so they counter a lot of the work we do." Nationally, 79.3 percent of two-year-olds were fully vaccinated in the first three months of the year - marginally better than at the same time last year. In some regions however, rates were much lower: Northland had just 66.4 percent coverage, while in Tairāwhiti and Bay of Plenty, it was around 68 percent . Davis said the Covid pandemic damaged trust in the health system and it was taking time to rebuild those relationships. "I think too that we have to balance our attempts at immunisation in relation to our relationships with our families. "To put it bluntly, sometimes we're going two or three times to the same families. And at the end of the day, from their perspective, they're over us." Infectious disease expert professor Peter McIntyre. Photo: University of Otago Infectious disease expert professor Peter McIntyre, from Otago University, said before Covid, decline rates for childhood immunisation were around 5 percent. However, for about one in three PHOs in those Health NZ figures, the decline rate was now more than 10 percent. "This substantial increase in the proportion of families declining, effectively makes that impossible." Unfortunately, vaccine distrust had got a stronger hold among Māori and Pacific communities , which already had more "delayed" immunisations, he said. "What the decline figures are telling is that these are people who are indicating they just don't intend to get their child immunised full stop, which is a development that's really worrying, because decline is a whole lot worse than delay." Full coverage remained a worthy goal, he said. "But if we really have to choose - which maybe at this stage we do - we want to focus on: How good is our protection against measles ? What's that looking like? What do we have to do about it? And maybe whooping cough as well. And meningococcal B." Ngāti Porou Oranga in Tairāwhiti recorded the lowest coverage with just 38.5 percent of two-year-olds fully vaccinated in the first three months of the year. No-one from the PHO was available to comment. Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance in Bay of Plenty said its figures had improved: 58.4 percent of enrolled tamariki were fully immunised as of 1 July, up from 52.5 percent in the previous quarter. Chief executive Katarina Gordon said however it was also seeing a growing number of whānau "expressing hesitancy or choosing to decline immunisation". "We're seeing a steady increase in vaccine hesitancy particularly among younger parents and caregivers. "Some are actively declining, but many are simply unsure or misinformed. Social media misinformation, past experiences of the health system, and general mistrust all contribute to this hesitancy." Many whānau were living in rural or remote areas, with limited access to transport, housing instability and economic hardship, which meant day-to-day needs often took priority over preventive healthcare like immunisations, she said. Health providers were struggling themselves with limited clinic availability, workforce shortages (especially nurses and outreach staff) and high demand, which meant some whānau faced long wait times or limited options for appointments. "Mobile outreach services help, but capacity is stretched, and funding is not always available and or sustainable." Despite these challenges, Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance continued to work with its practice network, outreach teams, Hauora Māori partners the National Public Health Service and Te Whatu Ora Health NZ to boost immunisation rates. "We remain committed to ensuring all interactions with whānau are timely, respectful, and culturally safe." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
GMA Network
21-06-2025
- Health
- GMA Network
Capiz confirms it has recorded first case of mpox
The province of Capiz said it has recorded its first case of monkeypox (mpox). This was announced by the Provincial Health Office (PHO), according to a report by Arlyn Joy Mendoza of Super Radyo Kalibo on Dobol B TV on Saturday. Of the seven suspected cases of mpox in Capiz subjected to further testing by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), one tested positive, and another one tested negative, the PHO said. The confirmed mpox case is now in home isolation and recovering. Meanwhile, the patient's close contacts are being monitored. The PHO is coordinating with the 17 local health offices, five government hospitals, and Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERTS) in the province for close monitoring and immediate response regarding suspected mpox cases. The Capiz Provincial Government meanwhile advised the public to stay calm and follow health protocols especially those pertaining to proper hygiene to prevent contracting mpox. The province of Aklan on the other hand is still mpox-free as of posting time. Mpox is a disease caused by the monkeypox virus. A zoonotic disease, mpox is transmitted to humans from animals. This disease can be acquired through direct contact with body fluids or skin-to-skin contact, including touching the rash or hives of a person who has it. According to the World Health Organization, symptoms of mpox include a skin rash or mucosal lesions, accompanied by fever, headache, muscle aches, back pain, low energy, and swollen lymph nodes. As of today, there is no treatment for mpox, but there are vaccines to protect one against the virus. Unfortunately, these vaccines are not yet available in the Philippines. Health Secretary Ted Herbosa earlier said that patients with mpox will be given supportive care where their symptoms will be treated. "Kapag nilalagnat sila, bibigyan sila ng paracetamol. Kung may makati sa kanila, anti-kati at aalagan 'yung mga lesions nila," Herbosa said. ("When cases have a fever, they will be given paracetamol. If they itch, they will be given anti-itch ointment, and doctors will treat their lesions.") Doctors can also prescribe antiviral medications, especially in cases with comorbid conditions. —KG, GMA Integrated News
Scoop
15-05-2025
- Health
- Scoop
Enabling Te Arawa Hauora Data Stories
The hauora data stories of Iwi-Māori whānau living in Rotorua can soon be told by Te Arawa. Te Taura Ora o Waiariki – Te Arawa Iwi Māori Partnership Board (IMPB) and PHO, Rotorua Area Primary Health Services (RAPHS), have signed a data sharing agreement supporting Te Arawa whānau access to Māori health data and collection. Enabling autonomy and transparent analysis of Māori health data can assist IMPBs nationally to self-determine priorities and monitor health sector performance for enhancing hauora Māori. Over several months, RAPHS worked in partnership with Te Taura Ora o Waiariki to unravel technical and health system knots that historically prevented secure and specific data sharing. The relationship between RAPHS and Te Taura Ora o Waiariki is enduring. For RAPHS, the agreement reinforces their values of He Ora Whakapiri (Together, we make it better) and the commitment to improve health system outcomes and equity. 'Health data is a taonga, it is whakapapa, holding the genetic journey and experiences of whānau. For RAPHS, the data sharing agreement respects this taonga and is another step toward tino rangatiratanga by enabling data sovereignty for iwi Māori.' - RAPHS CEO, Kirsten Stone The arrangement empowers Taura Ora o Waiariki to have confidential access to Māori health data that has been compiled and made anonymous. This means personal information such as a person's name, date of birth, or address won't be seen and individuals can't be identified. Data will be retrieved, analysed, and monitored to inform hauora Māori strategy and outcomes. 'Having access to accurate and timely local data is a game changer for Te Taura Ora o Waiariki. Our agreement with RAPHS will help us to identify and advocate for key changes to policy, service provision, and the funding mechanisms needed to improve quality and access to healthcare for Māori. Coupled with what whānau are telling us, we can build a clearer picture of where best to concentrate our efforts – having data means we can work smarter' – Te Taura Ora o Waiariki GM, Aroha Dorset Background: Rotorua Area Primary Health Services Limited (RAPHS) RAPHS is a community based not-for-profit clinical network. We have been committed to improving health and wellbeing in the Rotorua region for over 30 years. A group of forward-thinking providers in the Rotorua community first established our organisation in 1991. Today, RAPHS is Rotorua's Primary Health Organisation (PHO). As a PHO, we support a range of clinical programmes for our community, and provide business, administrative and technology support for our member providers and partner organisations. Rotorua Area Primary Health Services (RAPHS) provides health services to the local community through a network of 13 general practice providers in the Lakes District, spanning Rotorua to Mangakino and Murupara. Healthcare teams provide health services to about 71,000 people in the Rotorua city and rural areas. RAPHS launched whānau-centred wellness hub, Koiora, in 2023 to support the unmet needs of Rotorua's population of underserved and unenrolled. Koiora is based in central Rotorua as a walk-in clinic providing holistic wrap around health care at no or low cost to users, ensuring services are accessible by all members of our community.
NZ Herald
11-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Primary health funding prompts Bay of Plenty medical practice migration, 46,000 enrolled switch
A funding-driven migration of medical practices with 46,000 enrolled patients from one Bay of Plenty primary health organisation to another has sparked concerns. The Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation (PHO) has been informed that Green Cross Health and Third Age Health practices plan to transfer to the Eastern
