Transfer of Waikohu Primary Care Services
31 May 2011
Negotiations between Tairawhiti District Health, Turanga Health and the Midlands Health Network Trust to transfer the Waikohu primary care services currently provided by TDH to Turanga Health are now complete. The transfer of the service will go ahead 1 July 2011.
Turanga Health will take over all primary care services currently provided by TDH in Waikohu, including outpost clinics at Matawai, Whatatutu and Patutahi as well as rural nursing services in the wider Western Rural area.
Community meetings are planned at Te Karaka, Whatatutu, Matawai and Patutahi in early June to allow community members and affected patients the opportunity to meet the new providers and address any queries.
Current patients are advised that their clinical records will transfer to the new provider and retain their integrity.
Pene Brown, Chairman, Turanga Health welcomes the opportunity to provide the Western rural communities with more of their primary health care services, “We have worked in these communities for a number of years and with the new services we look to build on the confidence and trust we have built up over those years.”
All existing staff will be given the opportunity to transfer to the new provider.
Helene Carbonatto, Group Manager Planning, Funding and Population Health said “I am delighted that Turanga Health will be providing these services for the Waikohu community. They are highly committed to providing excellent services to the Western rural population, and I know they will work hard to ensure the Western rural community has a primary health service to be proud of. She also noted that Turanga Health, the Midlands Health Network Trust and TDH have been working closely together for the last six months to ensure a smooth transition for staff and patients.
She also wanted to thank the nursing and administrative staff at Waikohu for their patience in this process, noting it had been an unsettling period in the last few months with the proposed transfer.