September 15, 2016
DHB role sought to improve Maori health
A leading Maori health advocate says getting a seat on the Hawke’s Bay District Health Board will give her a chance to make a difference for Maori in her region.
Kerri Nuku, the kaiwhakahaere for the New Zealand Nurses Organisation, has in the past sat on the board’s Maori advisory committee.
She also worked for an international research organisation looking at ways to improve indigenous health.
She’s concerned the board has some of the worst results nationally for treating Maori cancer patients, vascular disease and diabetes.
Some of that could be about the services it offers and where it offers them.
"Napier, Hastings, we've got a large rural population Porangahau, Wairoa Central Hawkes Bay. I can only assume it's because of geographical reasons and we need to make sure that rural people have the same access to services as those of us that live in the central business districts," says Kerri Nuku.
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