Planning the Future of Rural Health | He Waka Eke Noa

Kia ora koutou,

I’m excited to be able to tell you more about Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network’s strategic workshop, Planning the Future of Rural Health | He Waka Eke Noa, that we are holding in Wellington on 28 March 2023.

What we will talk about?
We have a full programme organised for the day that I’m sure you will find both stimulating and enjoyable. The morning session includes time with Manatū Hauora to discuss the development of Government’s first ever Rural Health Strategy. We will also hear from Te Whatu Ora and Te Aka Whai Ora about their 18-month rural health workplan that includes initiatives such as progress in the locality planning initiatives, the review of rural afterhours and PRIME services, rollout of rural telehealth services, and establishing a new rural hospital locum service.

In the afternoon we will work both together and in small groups to challenge our thinking about how planned, acute, and emergency care services could work across rural general practice and hospitals, allied health and community care. This will lead us to establish what may become our collective vision for the future of rural health. From this vision we will build a strategic plan and actions which will outline what we need to do, or advocate for, to get there over the next 3 – 5 years.

Our Council, Board and Te Rōpū Ārahi will take what they hear from you in this workshop into a meeting the following day in which they will develop our organisation’s first Strategic Plan and key actions to progress it.

Two of our original rural health networks, RGPN and RHAANZ, will hold their final AGMs to complete the process of winding them up. We will do this at the end of the day and so will ensure their members can attend virtually if they would like to do so.

How you can participate, in person or virtually 
We all enjoy getting together in person, but we realise this isn’t always possible so to ensure as many of our members as possible can be involved, we will have other ways you can participate:

• Video conferencing will be available for some sessions,
• We will ask all our members to do some pre-workshop thinking, either individually, or from Chapters. Our team is working with the facilitator on the details of this and will be in contact with you in the next week or two. This should give plenty of time for Chapters to discuss the issues and ideas that come from it, particularly for those who are unable to attend either in person or virtually.

We’ve had amazing support from Valentia Technologies (suppliers of Indici) whose generous sponsorship of this event has enabled us to keep our registration fee to just $100 plus GST for those attending in person.

We look forward to welcoming you to Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network’s Planning the Future of Rural Health | He Waka Eke Noa.

Dr Fiona Bolden
Chair