Hokonui Rūnanga and Awarua Rūnaka joined the project as financial investors in June, and Waihōpai Rūnaka and Oraka Aparima Rūnaka have joined as collaborative partners to make sure the new practice meets the community s needs. WellSouth chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said Gaitt s experience and connections in Southland would be an asset while the group designed the new service model.
Debbie Jamieson/Stuff
WellSouth chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs says together with iwi, the primary health network wants to develop a purpose-built facility where Invercargill residents will be able to access a range of health service – from GP appointments to X-rays.
+Undoctored
Media release from WellSouth, Hokonui Rūnanga and Awarua Whānau Services
Tuesday 20 July 2021, 11:58 AM
3 minutes to Read
Anna Gaitt, service manager for WellSouth s Invercargill practice
WellSouth’s plans for a primary care service in Invercargill has taken another step forward with the appointment of a service manager and a new rūnaka partner joining the initiative.
Anna Gaitt will join WellSouth and lead the development of the new primary care service.
Also this week, Oraka Aparima Rūnaka has confirmed it will join with Hokonui Rūnanga, Waihōpai Rūnaka and Awarua Rūnaka in partnering with WellSouth to create the new primary care service, helping ensure further equity of access to primary care services and health outcomes for all in the Invercargill locality.
Preventative health care was vitally important to help whānau avoid getting so sick they needed hospital care, Nicholas said. And providing access to quality health care was part of iwi s responsibility under its partnership with the crown, he said. Nicholas envisioned the future medical centre offering complementary health services like dentistry, podiatry, physiotherapy, and oral health care, alongside Whānau Ora services. While the nuts and bolts of the partnership, including the shareholder agreement, needed to be worked out, Nicholas said the practice could be up and running within a month – although WellSouth has indicated that finding staff was a challenge.