Free kaupapa Māori health clinic in Central Hawke’s Bay stretched as families delay vital care

Shelly Smith is the service manager of Te Ara Waiora in Central Hawke's Bay. Photo / RNZ, Alexa Cook

By Alexa Cook of RNZ

The rising cost of living and GP shortage is resulting in an influx of patients coming through the doors of a free kaupapa Māori hauora clinic in Central Hawke’s Bay.

Te Ara Waiora in Waipukurau has been caring for people in Central Hawke’s Bay for more than seven years, and is now so busy it needs to find two more local nurses.

Alexa Cook reports as part of Pinch Point – an ongoing RNZ series about living with the cost of living.

“There are a huge number that walk through the door and don’t have a GP.

“The cost of a GP is a killer for a lot of people,” said Te Ara Waiora service manager Shelly Smith.

Waipukurau resident Macy Te Whaiti, 24, is pregnant with her third child and describes Te Ara Waiora as a “lifesaver”.

“I’m very fearful about how much it is going to cost for myself, let alone my kids, as times get tougher for everybody and as resources get limited more and more.

“It’s scary, it’s very scary,” she said.

Macy Te Whaiti, 24, is expecting her third child and is grateful for the service of the free kaupapa Māori hauora clinic. Photo / RNZ, Alexa Cook

The nurse-led service is funded by Te Whatu Ora and has a clinic in Flaxmere and Waipukurau. Waipukurau currently has five registered nurses, a health coach, health promoter, two He Oranga kaimahi and two admin staff. The nurses regularly travel to rural areas for mobile clinics and visit people at home when needed.

But to keep up with the surge in patients, the clinic is trying to recruit two more local nurses.

“You’ve just got to do what you can with what you’ve got, but the community are calling out for more and we do what we can to meet it,” said Smith.

Registered nurse Tina Carrell told RNZ it had been a very busy few months at the clinic.

“A lot of our clients ... can’t afford to get into Hastings to the doctor where they really should be seen.

“It definitely has [worsened] over this winter. One week I saw 50 people in three days,” said registered nurse Tina Carrell.

The free kaupapa Māori hauora clinic is about so much more than seeing to patients’ physical needs. Nurses also have a kōrero with people about wider issues impacting them, such as living situations and mental health.

Carrell worries about how people are coping with the cost-of-living crisis, and said in the current economic climate, people are often delaying treatment for serious health concerns.

“Because of the cost of going to a doctor, or they’re unable to get transport ... a lot of people are leaving conditions late to get treatment. Therefore the treatment is more for a referral to a hospital,” said Carrell.

A registered nurse herself, Smith would love to see more support for free walk-in healthcare clinics and the wider healthcare system.

“Everybody works really hard, they make the best of it, but it’s failing despite how hard everyone is working ... so that needs looking at,” she said.

Macy Te Whaiti having her temperature checked by registered nurse Tina Carrell. Photo / RNZ, Alexa Cook

With her household bills constantly climbing, Te Whaiti told RNZ it was getting harder and harder to pay them.

“It sucks ... I get emotional about it. I am lucky enough to have their dad as someone who is very very supportive and will do whatever it takes to put food on the table and a roof over their head.

“But it saddens me because we struggle ... to put food on the table and what meals to come up with and obviously as parents when it comes down to it, your kids eat first, you make sure your kids have enough,” she said.

But Te Whaiti is concerned for the growing number of people who she knows are worse off.

“To think of those whānau that don’t have that, it really hurts ... it’s a big mamae.

“You can’t escape seeing it, especially living in Hawke’s Bay, or anywhere in New Zealand really. It scares me about what the next even two years are going to be like,” said Te Whaiti.