Our Annual Reports

Co-Chair’s Report

As we move towards a time that seems to hold hope and room to refocus on non-COVID related health goals, we are in no shortage of challenges. But what we have shown is that as a united community of health providers, iwi, support staff, and clinicians, we have the resilience, ideas, innovation and collaborative spirit to change and adapt, to solve and grow.

Health reforms are at the forefront of our minds, bringing change to the sector that will require this collaborative spirit for which the Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation has become known.

You will read in this report multiple examples of new initiatives that lean on community, grassroots relationships to break down barriers and bring empowerment and tangible health and wellbeing benefits for the most marginalised, and to address some of the most difficult issues of inequity. We are proud of such efforts and brave strides, and we thank those community organisations with whom we’ve partnered for their trust in us to work together in new ways. We are readying ourselves for the locality model the new health reforms challenges us to do and we see the willingness to listen, to be open, and to adapt.

Central to all this change is the drive and priority to realise equity and improve Māori health outcomes and wellbeing in particular. These core focusses are at the centre of decisions made by the board and PHO. Iwi and providers continue to develop their relationships and the development of our iwi-owned Māori commissioning agency, Tino Rangatiratanga Iwi Commissioning Agency (TICA) is vital to the delivery of service to Māori and to meet the urgent objectives before us.

The now well documented workforce crisis continues and it’s good to see media covering the issue to shine a light on the problem and its extent across the network. As a PHO we have been working on a recruitment drive that will use video and will support national initiatives to increase workforce capacity. The population we serve is now over 200,000 with Māori making up more than 30,000 of that population. We must keep up with the growth and both the challenges and opportunities that presents.

Prudent financial management has seen an improvement in financial performance for the organisation. We want to say a huge thanks to our senior leadership team who continues to navigate a tricky landscape with our hugely valued PHO staff. Thank you for your ongoing mahi.

Our after hours provider model is currently being reviewed to ensure it remains fit for purpose now and into the future given demand and capacity changes. We know providers will have a keen eye on the outcomes of this review.

There have been changes to the board and we’d like to acknowledge the contribution made by Mel Tata, Ngāti Ranginui Iwi CE, who has stepped aside as co-chair but remains with us around the table. We’d also like to thank Dr Todd Hulbert who has now left the board as co-chair, and equally to Dr Simon Robertson who has also stepped off the board. We welcome Dr Luke Bradford back, and we are delighted to take on the co-chair roles.

Nga mihi

Paora Stanley and Dr Dan McIntosh

Board Co-Chairs