Bay of Plenty organisations meet to discuss Covid-19 response; past, present and future

Bay of Plenty District Health Board acting medical officer and Covid-19 executive lead Dr Joe Bourne. Photo / Supplied

Organisations from across the Bay of Plenty have come together to appraise the local Covid-19 response and plan for future outbreaks.

More than 100 people, representing 39 organisations, came together for the Past, Present, Future event organised by the Bay of Plenty District Health Board held at Te Puke's Orchard Church last week.

The organisations, large and small, were from across the Bay of Plenty including iwi, Māori health providers, local councils, the three regional primary health organisations, Lakes District Health Board, community health providers and health charities, public health services, hospice providers and pharmacy representatives.

The four-hour event acknowledged the Covid-19 response work to date and the impact it had on the health system and Bay of Plenty community in general.

The current state-of-play was also discussed before a session on future scenario planning.

This session was designed to plan co-ordinated responses should small, medium or even major outbreaks happen at some stage in the future.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board acting medical officer and Covid-19 executive lead Dr Joe Bourne said the buy-in from all those present was clear.

"It was amazing to see how far the relationships have developed between all those present and that is great news for the Bay of Plenty in general," Bourne said.

"The level of enduring trust and commitment to the cause was plain for all to see."

He said this put them in great stead for future challenges with the virus as well as any other health system challenges which may prop up.

The health board chief executive Pete Chandler said it was a time to share, reflect and celebrate the "amazing collective effort" as we navigated our way through challenges the virus brought.

The board's service improvement programme manager Helen De Vere, who helped organise the event, said she'd had a lot of positive feedback from the event, a first of its kind.

"We connected with a lot of organisations during the Covid lockdown and this was a great way to reinforce those connections," De Vere said.

She said the future scenario planning exercise helped sharpen the focus for organisations individually, and collectively, around elements of the local resurgence planning.