June 29, 2022
Rotorua rest home adopts tiriti strategy
A Rotorua aged care facility is piloting a kaupapa Māori strategy to better cater for the cultural needs of residents.
Cantabria Lifecare & Village is part of the Heritage Lifecare group which has 39 care homes and 20 village nationwide.
Support services manager Mariana Morrison says one in five of Cantabria’s 161 residents identify as Māori.
She says the strategy is a way to implement the new Ngā Paerewa Health and disability services standard while also making the facility more responsive to Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
“There’s been a lot of disenfranchisement regarding Maori being able to access services that have been culturally appropriate. Now with the changes that have happened we are able to be more inclusive in the decision making of our Maori whanau so this means Maori are now part and parcel of the decision making,” Ms Morrison says.
The strategy includes staff training, recruitment and training of Maori staff, and partnerships with hapu and iwi and local schools.