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Mobile Health | Hauora Taiwhenua Rural New Zealand Health Scholarships

Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network is partnering with Mobile Health Group to offer our rural youth financial support in their pursuit of health studies. The four scholarships (with at least one targeted at Māori/Pasifika student) each valued at $5,000, will be offered to any rural youth entering their first year of full-time undergraduate study in Nursing, Medicine, or allied health related courses at any New Zealand Universities, Polytechnics, or PTEs.

BNZ Rural Development Scholarship

We are delighted to announce that the BNZ Rural Development Scholarship has been awarded to Samantha Menzes for the upcoming summer break

Primary & Community Care Cyber Security Maturity Assessment

The primary & community cyber security maturity assessment is now LIVE!  If you are a provider yourself, please complete your respective assessment.

Sustained lobbying for equity raises profile of rural health

The results of years of persistent lobbying from the rural sector are becoming apparent following the inclusion of rural in the Pae Ora bill and with the creation of a rural-health focused Chief Advisor role at the Ministry of Health.

Surfing to boost wellbeing for flat-out farmers

As spring gets underway and the oceans start to warm, Surfing for Farmers will be getting ready to kick off their 2022/2023 summer season which will start in December.

Dedicated funding for GP training a first step to deliver a future rural health workforce

The future of a career in General Practice is beginning to look more attractive following the Minister of Health’s announcement today of dedicated funding towards GP training.

The future of a career in General Practice is beginning to look more attractive following the Minister of Health’s announcement today of dedicated funding towards GP training.

Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network welcomes the government’s response to our calls for action in addressing the dire shortage of General Practitioners across New Zealand, which is most pronounced in rural areas.

The three funded initiatives announced today will add a much-needed boost to attracting medical graduates to train as specialist GPs.

The three initiatives developed by The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, to be launched in 2023, include:

  1. Increased salaries for first year GP registrars to align them with other specialist registrars.
  2. Specialist GPs undertaking on-the-job training of registrars will receive more funded teaching time to dedicate to first year registrars.
  3. General practices hosting post graduate doctors undertaking community-based attachments will receive a weekly hosting fee, whereas currently practices receive no financial recognition for the time spent training junior doctors.

This funding will acknowledge the commitment that General Practice specialists and practices make to the training of junior doctors, which they have had little financial recognition for in the past.

This will encourage rural general practices to host junior doctors in their rural communities and share with them the fulfilling art of rural practice.

Hauora Taiwhenua Chief Executive Dr Grant Davidson welcomes the funding for these initiatives as they will help to achieve parity with registrars in other health professions.

“We are glad that general practice is now being recognised as an equal pathway at registrar level,” Dr Davidson says.

“This is a good first step, but we need much wider system-based changes if we are to see greater numbers of GPs choose to work in rural communities.

“There needs to be more positions available in medical schools, with a good proportion of these targeted at students interested in rural general practice.

“At the same time there should be an immediate review of rural primary care funding so that rural primary and community care workers can enjoy pay, work conditions, and lifestyles that will make rural health a highly regarded and sought-after career, which it once was.