Pinnacle Health

Small changes in practice can make a big difference to how welcomed and understood whānau feel when they walk through the door.

Wellspring Medical Centre recently became the first practice outside our pilot sites to fully adopt Tikanga in Practice: a guide to culturally confident care – a resource developed by Pinnacle Midlands Health Network to help general practice teams build confidence engaging with whānau Māori in meaningful and culturally safe ways.

The Wellspring team described the workshops as welcoming, engaging and practical, saying they came away feeling more confident applying tikanga within their practice setting.

Charlie Poihipi, Pinnacle’s programme lead Māori health & equity, says the resource is about giving teams the confidence to have a go and helping practices think about what makes whānau Māori feel welcomed and respected.

“It’s been great to see Wellspring take it on board and make it part of how they work,” he said.

A huge thank you as well to our original pilot practices: Hamilton East Medical Centre, Grandview Medical Centre and Tokoroa Medical Centre, whose feedback and support helped shape this kaupapa from the start.

Mauri ora.

What does it really mean to champion meaningful reforms in primary health rather than just doing things for the optics?

"If we are serious about improving access and sustainability, we need to stay focused on what actually helps general practice and the wider system work better. That includes the current advice to the health minister on the future of PHOs, the discussion about national targets, and the wider question of what kind of primary care system Aotearoa New Zealand needs next. Anyone can promise a better model, but the real test is whether they understand the pressures, the relationships, and the day-to-day realities well enough to make it work."

In his latest blog, Pinnacle CEO Justin Butcher discusses that fresh thinking has a place in primary care. New ideas matter. Challenge can be healthy. But primary care is too important to be reduced to branding, slogans, or simplistic claims about what should replace what.

Read his blog here: https://www.pinnaclepractices.co.nz/news/primary-care-needs-more-than-a-new-story/