Whanganui Regional Health Network providing free health services on Saturday

Ra Haurora in Whanganui on Saturday will provide a range of free health services. Photo / NZME

Free immunisations and a range of health services will be on offer in Whanganui as part of a community health check-up this weekend.

Ra Haurora is a health promotion day hosted by the Whanganui Regional Health Network at its premise at Whanganui Hospital on Saturday.

Vaccinations available will include the Covid-19 booster, influenza, HPV and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations.

B4 School Checks will also be available at the event, which aims to identify any health, behavioural, social, or developmental concerns that could affect a child’s ability to get the most benefit from school.

There will also be general health checks available for all ages, free cervical smears, education on long-term health conditions, and health information booklets.

In July the Whanganui Chronicle reported there was a slow uptake for flu jabs for 3- to 13-year-olds due to what Plunket Whanganui/ Manawatū chief nurse Dr Zoë Tipa called “vaccine fatigue.”

She said that was a result of the big push to get Covid-19 vaccinations and the high amounts of information from the media.

“So many people are tired of hearing about it and child immunisation rates have been down since the start of the pandemic basically,” Hemingway said.

“It does worry us, and we are trying to do everything we can to encourage people to keep their children up to date with their vaccines.”

A Paediatric Society of New Zealand spokesperson Dr Owen Sinclair said he was deeply concerned about Aotearoa’s low rates of immunisations for preventable and life-threatening childhood diseases like measles and whooping cough.

Sinclair (Te Rarawa) said previous gains in immunisation had long gone.

“Statistics show current Māori and Pasifika rates of immunisation are as low as they have ever been. We are nowhere near achieving the levels required to protect our precious tamariki.

Te Whatu Ora data from May to June 2022 shows 81.3 per cent of Pacifika children in New Zealand are up to date and 67.1 per cent of Māori children.

“Rates had been falling prior to the pandemic but Covid-19 has resulted in the collapse of the childhood vaccine system.”

He said Covid-19 resources should be redirected toward equitable childhood vaccination and for the Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora to urgently address the crisis.

At Saturday’s event, there will also be a sausage sizzle, face painting and a garage sale where attendees can fill a shopping bag for $2.

Funds raised from the garage sale will go towards an I Am Hope event “Gumboot Friday” which provides free counselling services for young people aged 25 and under.

Whanganui Regional Health Network is located on the hospital grounds – Entrance 3, 100 Heads Road. Look out for our signage by the roadside and drive on down to our building, where there is car parking available.

The event is free and runs from 10am to 2pm at the Whanganui Regional Health Network premise at the Whanganui Hospital 100 Heads Road.