Patients in Auckland's Ōtara are queuing in the cold from 6am to see a doctor. Video / Ben Dickens / Michael Morrah / Corey Fleming
One of the largest iwi in New Zealand has invested in a digi-physical healthcare provider, albeit conservatively.
Ngāi Tahu Holdings, the investment arm of the Ngāi Tahu Charitable Trust, has become a shareholder in online GP provider Tend Health.
The group now owns a minority stake in the business of1.08%.
Founder and co-chief executive of Tend Health, Cecilia Robinson, who also co-founded meal-kit provider My Food Bag, said it was a “substantial step forward” for the business.
“It underscores our dedication to engaging meaningfully with iwi and ensuring that our services align with the needs and values of the communities we serve,” Robinson said.
“Their investment brings both strategic value and shared goals for improving healthcare access across Aotearoa.”
She confirmed that the partnership came about naturally after the two groups had ongoing conversations about their shared vision for the future of health.
Tend founders and co-CEOs Cecilia Robinson and James Robinson.
Ngāi Tahu Holdings chief executive Todd Moyle said the party’s values aligned, particularly on improving healthcare outcomes for all New Zealanders.
“This investment is part of our New Economy strategy to support innovative and sustainable businesses throughout the motu,” Moyle said.
Ngāi Tahu’s New Economy strategy aims to invest in innovative and sustainable businesses. Recent investments include bio-mining company Mint Innovation, and whānau-owned financial literacy provider Banqer.
The iwi has invested $16.7 million in sustainable businesses to date, according to their latest annual report.
Moyle said that Ngāi Tahu’s involvement “enables us to explore exciting opportunities to work closer together to improve health outcomes for whānau and communities.”
Tend Health supports more than 135,000 enrolled patients across a network of 25 operated clinics nationwide. Eleven clinics are set to be fully integrated with the Tend platform by the end of September.
The provider is expanding its digi-physical presence across the South Island as an alternative to the traditional healthcare system.
Co-founder and director of population health and equity at Tend, Dr Mataroria Lyndon, emphasised the company’s dedication to improving healthcare for all communities.
“Tend is deeply committed to advancing health access and equity, as evidenced by one of our recent integrations where we significantly increased Māori enrolments at a medical centre from 8% to 18%, and Pacifica enrolments from 2% to 14%,” Lyndon said.
Robinson believes Ngāi Tahu’s involvement will help Tend’s efforts “to make healthcare more accessible and equitable” moving forward.
Access to health services changing
Amid the evolving landscape of New Zealand’s general practitioners (GP), Tend has been steadily gaining traction as it gains investment and grows its footprint through brick-and-mortar practices.
Back in 2022, Tend took a 50% stake in South Island-based general practice service Better Health.
The partnership covered 14 medical centres — in Christchurch, North Canterbury and the lower South Island — reaching more than 90,000 patients.
Better Health co-founder and medical director Dr Graham McGeoch said: “We’re excited about the opportunity with Tend to lift health equity and improve access to healthcare in the South Island — especially for people living rurally, with disabilities or in under-served communities”.
Better Health has a network of medical practices throughout the South Island and provides management services and succession planning for medical practices. Tend plans to integrate with select Better Health clinics over time.
Both organisations said equity and accessibility were essential to their services and had driven their decision to work together.
Tend also bought two major medical centres: Symonds Street Medical Centre and Pakuranga Medical Centre in 2021.
GPs sound the alarm
A group representing GPs recently issued a bleak assessment of the state of primary healthcare in New Zealand, saying “the concept of a family doctor is dead”, and the Government must act before there’s wider health sector collapse.
Patients waited at the clinic hours before it opened, telling the Herald they turned up early in the cold because of long wait times and difficulty getting appointments with other GPs, whose books were full.
Dr Buzz Burrell is interim chair of GP advocacy group General Practitioners Aotearoa. Photo / Corey Fleming
The GPA’s interim chairman Dr Buzz Burrell said the Herald’s video story was shocking and should serve as a wake-up call for all of New Zealand and the Government.
“It [the Herald’s video] was probably the most frightening demonstration of inequity that you could possibly ask for in primary care in New Zealand.”
Burrell, who’s been a GP and rural hospital specialist for 30 years, didn’t believe the Government was prioritising general practice because it was “too unsexy” for politicians, who preferred to campaign on hospital-level care.
“Eventually, we are going to have a tipping point where we will have so few GPs that people are going to be overwhelming the emergency departments.”
