July 13, 2021
New system needed for pepe health
Associate Health Minister Ayesha Verrall says a one size fits all system of health monitoring doesn’t work for all babies and change is needed, especially for Maori and Pacific whanau and those with complex needs.
She has announced a process over the next three years to revamp Well Child Tamariki Ora, which is delivered by Whānau Āwhina Plunket and other mostly Māori and Pacific non-government organisations.
She says Māori well child providers have identified some of what they want to see in the new system.
"Whanau appreciate when it is the same provider, the same person who turns up over time. Making sure in our interactions with whanau we are not just liaising totally with the mother but recognising the fathers and indeed the wider whānau will have a role in the raising of that child," Dr Verrall says.
The current system is not joined up, and about a quarter of Māori children don’t get the referrals for their eye or hearing checks they may need alongside the vaccinations, oral health and maternity care.
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