Health scheme helps residents

A woman in liver failure, an undiagnosed diabetic and an unregistered baby were uncovered in a new health initiative to support the most vulnerable member of our community.

Nelson Marlborough Health general manager of Maori health and vulnerable populations Ditre Tamatea developed the Hauora Direct initiative to connect Maori and those who are disadvantaged with the health services they need.

‘‘We know who the people are who are disconnected with the health system – it’s Maori males mid-20s to mid-40s, and beneficiaries with children under the age of 5.’’

Hauora Direct was piloted at Franklyn Village, and of the 80 residents who participated, 89 per cent of adults and 86 per cent of children had a health issue uncovered during the assessment.

Among the adults, the most common issues were lack of enrolment with a GP, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, smoking and cervical screening.

Tamatea said 32 per cent didn’t have a GP, despite living across the road from the very low-cost access Medical and Injury Centre. Those people have since been enrolled with a GP.

The assessment was piloted at Franklyn Village in Nelson and Golden Bay Fruit in Motueka. It is set to be rolled out in a number of different settings.

It included checking for diabetes risk, cholesterol levels, cardiovascular health, heart disease, stroke risk and cancer screening.

If necessary, referrals were made for alcohol, smoking, addiction, depression and family violence help services. People were also helped to enrol with a GP and the community oral health service.

Tamatea said the initiative was a unique tool to improve the health priorities for Maori and high needs non-Maori. It is set to be adopted by the Victory and Tahunanui community centres, in hospital departments and GP settings, and by different community organisations and businesses.

‘‘It is a partnership model, it brings multiple mainstream services together, that is the power of it.

‘‘It brings a whole lot of health professionals and organisations together to work to make a change for those who need it most.’’

Tamatea said it was important to think differently in order to engage with people who typically struggled to access services. He said feedback from residents had been ‘‘overwhelmingly positive’’.

‘‘I got a sense of gratitude that we were willing to take it right into their home, because it is their home. In amongst all the bad news, what people don’t realise is that Franklyn has a really strong sense of community.’’

While there was hardship and many residents with high needs, he said there was also a support network among them.

Tamatea would know, because he is a Franklyn Village resident too.

‘‘The irony of it all isn’t lost on me, my job is Maori health and vulnerable populations and I live at Franklyn.’’

As part of the Franklyn Village assessment, residents were incentivised with a meal. Before the assessment, some were chosen as ‘‘community champions’’ to promote the event.

One of those, was long-term Franklyn Village resident Hughey Pahi, who was affectionately referred to as a kaumatua of the housing complex.

Pahi said in his four years living at Franklyn, he had never seen anything like the Hauora Direct health assessment.

‘‘It was a way of everybody getting some free health checks, I think there is a bit of a phobia about going to see the doctor and a lot of the people here wouldn’t have done that otherwise.’’

He was more than happy to champion Hauora Direct to the Franklyn community. While there was some initial hesitancy, people soon got on board.

‘‘I love to promote things that are going to benefit myself and others, especially in here. It was empowering, because then you could take care of things.’’

He was aware of the negative perception of Franklyn Village, but he loved living there, especially its sense of community.

‘‘There are a lot of positive things about this place ... people have a lot of issues, but when you get to know each other, because you have to when you live with everybody else, you tend to be able to talk about things that you can’t go and tell your neighbour about.

‘‘People care, that’s the main thing, we really care about one another.’’

Franklyn Village manager James Campion said 249 people lived at the housing complex and they came from all walks of life.

He noticed for many residents, their confidence and feelings of self-worth increased after the assessment.