Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey said the Wairoa hub will facilitate connections between local health services, universities and training providers so students and staff can learn and work in the community. Photo / Supplied
Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey said the Wairoa hub will facilitate connections between local health services, universities and training providers so students and staff can learn and work in the community. Photo / Supplied
A rural training hub will be started in Wairoa to retain and attract workers to the district to grow the frontline health workforce.
Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey was in Wairoa today and said it was the second of four hubs being rolled out nationally, following the first inSouth Taranaki.
The hubs will co-ordinate clinical placements, training pathways and pastoral support.
“To bring healthcare closer to home, we also need to bring health worker education closer to home,” Doocey said.
“Kiwis should have access to timely, quality care, wherever they live.”
Each hub will have a dedicated programme leader responsible for making connections with local health services, universities and training providers so students and staff can learn and work in the community.
“These co-ordinators will help people settle into life in Wairoa, whether that’s finding housing or helping find employment.”
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little said it was a great step in the right direction and would offer locals and rangatahi opportunities closer to home.
“We have got to make sure we have meaningful jobs for them, and that they don’t fly the coop and head to Australia.”
Doocey said the Government was committed to fixing the basics and building the future for the one in five New Zealanders who live in rural communities.
“This will make it easier for doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to live, work and train locally.”
He said it will be co-designed with local communities, iwi and health providers.
“One of the ways we can lift barriers to getting frontline workers settled in our rural communities is ensuring people feel connected to where they live.”
The hubs build on the work already underway to increase the rural health workforce.
“These hubs help ensure rural New Zealanders have access to timely, quality, and reliable care close to home.”
Mayor Craig Little said the population of Wairoa was growing, so it was necessary to have access to local healthcare. Photo / Michaela Gower
Little said that due to Wairoa’s isolation, it was important to have access to local healthcare.
“That road [Napier to Wairoa] is so vulnerable, I travelled it yesterday [Wednesday] and probably had about four or five red lights, you end up in queues of 10 to 20 trucks, and when you are getting older, that’s the last thing you want to do to head down to an appointment.”
He said there was still a long way to go to get permanent solutions to support the growing population, including getting an aged care facility and a permanent dentist.
“People are dying out of town, and families are imploding trying to look after their loved ones, and with no respite care, it’s not good at all.
“We have got some wonderful health providers here in Wairoa, like the Kahungunu Executive doing their best, but a lot of the things, it’s not their baby to do.”
Little said Wairoa had been given a bad rap and this had potentially deterred health professionals from moving to the town.
“It is a great place to live, and I’m not biased ... it is a very friendly town, and as the council, it is up to us to make it better.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.
