May 07, 2013
Boost for Maori telenursing
Telenursing company Medibank is trying to get more Māori nurses to cope with demand on the Healthline phone services.
It has created a postgraduate scholarship for Māori nurses, which is administered by Te Rau Matatini, the Māori health workforce development organisation.
The first two recipients, Putiputi McMahon from Kaitaia and Jewel Reti from Whangarei, were recognised at a Mihimihi in Wellington today.
Medibank General Manager Andrea Pettett says about 20 percent of calls to Healthline are from Māori, and there has been an increase in the number of rural Māori calling in.
Registered nurses give advice on whether callers should go immediately to an emergency ward or wait to see their GP.
She says about 40 percent of our callers are given information on how they can safely manage their health condition at home. A very small proportion of callers are put through to 111 ambulances.
Andrea Pettett says each scholarship is worth up to $10,000 a year for three years, and covers costs associated with training, mentoring, work placements and attendance at nursing conferences.
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