June 20, 2023
Māori health option boosts engagement
More than 1500 callers have asked to speak to Māori clinicians since the option was intruduced by free medical support phone service Healthline in January.
Ingrid Tan, the nurse operations lead at Healthline-Whakarongorau, says Maori are often reluctant to seek medical advice.
Having someone they can relate to helps break down barriers and creates a rapport more quickl;y.
“When we get that call from you, we want to build that connection right off the bat. So a lot of our Maori clinicians will identify what iwi they’re from, and we want to find out what’s going on for them right from the beginning – before we get into the assessment and the advice and all of that, we want to get to know that person first. It’s building that whakawhanaungatanga right at the beginning eh,” Ms Tan says.
Maori clinicians are available between the hours of 8am to 8pm – on 0800-611-116.