Health expo helping to provide alternatives in Dannevirke

Flu vaccinations will be available at the mini health expo on Saturday. Photo / NZME

A mini health expo being held in Dannevirke on Saturday is hoped to encourage whānau to take up leadership and management of their health.

Te Piringa Manatopu Watene Māori regional Māori wardens chairman Jordan Winiata said the expo, being held at the A&P showgrounds from 12 noon, would include health professionals who would be there to answer various health questions.

Winiata said right now there was a high level of stress on the health system.

He said Covid was continuing to impact not only the health system but also the health of individuals and whānau, and it was more important than ever for people to think about taking the initiative regarding their health.

The expo would provide education to whānau through the day on a variety of topics and ways to get help that didn't necessarily mean waiting to see the GP.

"If you've been diagnosed with asthma, for example, you don't have your asthma medication, you don't need to be ringing for a doctor's appointment to get that. There are alternatives - you can do a phone consult with a nurse, you can get your prescription sent directly to the pharmacy and pick it up from there."

Winiata said there was still a lot of confusion among whānau around the Covid framework.

"Like what happens if I've had Covid before but now somebody who hasn't had Covid within my household has got it - what does that mean for me within the 28 days versus the 90-day guidance we've been given. Do I still need to isolate? Do I continue on with my business as usual until I show symptoms and isolate?"

The mini-festival would not only have kai and entertainment - flu vaccinations would also be on offer to those aged 3 and over, along with Covid vaccinations.

There would also be workshops and discussions around things like symptoms of flu as compared with Covid.

"These are some of the questions that some of the health practitioners and nurses who will be there on the day will help to answer for whānau."

Winiata said the big question had been "what more can we do as a community, as whānau, focusing on our Māori whānau because we know that they're not very good in this space."

He said some of the population had chosen not to be vaccinated.

"It's just about we've got to get over that, we can argue about that till the cows come home. The next step from that is how do we become more resilient.

"We need to encourage whānau to take leadership in their health and what can they do to help take that leadership and self-manage."

Winiata said they didn't want to hold the expo in an urban sector and wanted to draw people from rural areas such as Pahiatua, Eketahuna and Waipukurau, and make it worth doing as a family trip.

He said there would be health professionals with a wide range of knowledge there.

"[Whānau] will get that one-on-one chance to ask the questions [that] practitioners, nurses and other health professionals in the field can hopefully answer. Or we can take their details and follow them up."