Community engagement begins on future of Waitaki healthcare services

The Waitaki community is being invited to have its say on shaping the future of healthcare in the district.

“The aim of the project is to improve coordination and access to health and wellbeing services for the people of Waitaki,” Health New Zealand Community Integration Group Manager Aroha Metcalf says. 

“To do this, we want to know how people use these services and what they like and don’t like about them.”  

Te Waka Hauora O Waitaki - Waitaki Health Futures Project is a partnership between the Waitaki District Council, Te Runanga o Moeraki, and Health New Zealand. The project was launched last year. 

Other key partners include Oamaru Hospital; providers Te Hā o Maru and the Oamaru Pacific Island Community Group (OPICG); the WellSouth primary health network; and the Stronger Waitaki Coalition. 

Metcalf says the smooth transition of Oamaru Hospital management to HNZ earlier this year – which occurred separately to the Health Futures project – was an example of health services and local partners working together to undertake significant change with no disruption for patients or staff.  

“Oamaru Hospital is an important part of the healthcare network in the Waitaki District and has an important role to play in the wellbeing of the community.” 

Metcalf says the project aims to ensure publicly funded health services in the Waitaki district work together to provide comprehensive local services. It aims to remove some of the barriers to health services, address inequity of health outcomes that some rural communities experience and relieve pressure on some tertiary services in the region.   

“We do need to ensure that future health service provision is clinically and financially sustainable,” Metcalf says.  

“This includes looking at models of care that enable better access for Waitaki communities, which will mean some services offered closer to home, reducing the need to travel.” 

Waitaki District Council Oamaru Ward councillor Tim Blackler says it has been a long-term ambition of both the council and Health NZ to address barriers to access and improve service coordination in Waitaki. 

“By taking part in this survey, the community can have an important role in shaping the future of services in the district,” he says. 

Te Rūnanga o Moeraki representative Trevor McGlinchey says: “The Runanga really encourages whānau Māori to fill in the surveys and participate in the community engagement meetings to ensure any changes in services meet whānau needs”.  

Community engagement will run from today to October 6, allowing project partners to listen and respond to local knowledge from the community, whānau, and service providers about what works well and what doesn’t. 

It will kick off with online and paper surveys and will include several targeted community engagement and drop-in sessions. 

It’s expected the new healthcare model will be implemented in stages from early 2025.