Patient Richard Brown gets a check-up through Turanga Health. Photo / Turanga Health
Patient Richard Brown gets a check-up through Turanga Health. Photo / Turanga Health
Gisborne’s Turanga Health has pulled in medical specialists from as far afield as Australia and the UK to support a comprehensive rural health access kaupapa ahead of the winter.
The two-week “Winter Wellness Drive”, which started on Monday this week and ends on Friday next week, brings three health spaces together under one co-ordinated kaupapa, offering optometry, dental care and vaccinations all at no cost to whānau.
Turanga Health chief executive Reweti Ropiha said in a statement that the initiative is all about winter preparedness, especially for whānau living in high-deprivation areas.
“We’re not just thinking about healthcare. We’re thinking about homes, kai, warmth – the full picture,” Ropiha said.
“This is about lifting the mauri of the community before winter hits hard.”
In addition to clinical services, Turanga Health is distributing firewood, co-ordinating home insulation and even building raised garden beds to promote self-sufficiency.
Otis and William Garrett at an appointment. Photo / Turanga Health
Di Akurangi, Turanga Health community engagement co-ordinator, said there were also services for young mums to get car seats and mobile barbers.
“It is about gearing up whānau for winter because what we find is if we don’t do this kind of stuff, then the people that we are targeting will end up in ED over the winter.”
She said 33 specialists were currently working on the services.
All the dental appointments have already been booked. There were 20 optometry appointment slots available for whānau who met the criteria.
Those criteria were hapū māmās or mothers with children under the age of 5, those with chronic health issues or those with mental health or addiction issues.
Anyone interested in making a booking should ring 0221 700 900.
Vaccinations are free to anyone.
Turanga Health stated that the scale of the initiative was unprecedented in Tairāwhiti, with over 150 whānau expected to come through daily.
“For many whānau, seeing a dentist or an optometrist is out of reach. Now it’s right here, in their backyard, no questions asked,” one local dad who brought in his child for an eye check-up said in a statement.
Specialists said they were blown away by the community response and the unique model of care.
“What Turanga Health is doing here, it’s pioneering,” Dr Sarah Mills, an optometrist from Sydney, said.
“We’re not just treating people, we’re part of something bigger.”
