Notes from Newtown & Strathmore Community and Health Network Meetings
August / September 2022
Two meetings were held in August and September with representatives from community health groups, local church groups, health providers, community centres, activists in the Newtown and Strathmore areas and representatives from Te Whatu Ora Capital Coast to talk about the health reforms, locality plans and for networking of health and community agencies working in the area.
Below is a summary of the presentations, discussion, issues, questions and ideas:
Summary of discussion at meeting 18/08/2022:
The Health and Disability Reforms: Te Whatu Ora Capital Coast
* Te Whatu Ora, at a district level, is now required to hear what is important and what the need is to feed this into local plans
* The reforms are not about changing services for people who it already works for. They are about re-directing services to reach and making a difference to people with whom we haven’t previously been able to reach/engage
* Equity – starting with people that need health services the most e.g. Māori, Pacific, Disabled, Homeless communities
* Commitment to delivering pae ora/ healthy futures
* Previous engagement across Newtown/Strathmore communities has occurred at an informal level. Previous engagement work that has been done and is being used to inform future conversations
* Localities will have “locality plans” which will be informed by the people, communities and providers who live there.
o Embedding Te Tiriti o Waitangi into the plans through Mana Whenua leadership
o Must be agreed by the Iwi Māori Partnership Board – Atiawa Toa Hauora Board, Te Aka Whaiora and Te Whatu ora
o Likely will be aspirational and visionary
o Ensuring we capture voices/representation from our priority populations (Māori, Pacific, Disability)
* In Porirua the formal establishment of the prototype locality has been led by Ngāti Toa and Te Whatu Ora are supporting them.
* We are waiting to hear what establishment leadership will look like and how Wellington might be consolidated (e.g. 1 or 2 localities) and will become more clear over time.
* Te Whatu Ora have a legislative requirement to write the locality plans:
o Representative of the communities
o Re-align and re-invest in service provision based on needs of the community
o Alignment of health services around Pae Ora model – Whānau ora, Mauri ora and Wai ora.
o Supporting providers to network, communicate and connect
o Understanding the current mechanisms and existing ways providers and communities connect and building on this.
2
Community Discussion/ Questions
* Q: Are communities represented on boards?
o A: Key thing is for the board to get assurance that community voice is feeding into the plans
* Q: How will elders be prioritised?
* Q: How will Te Whatu Ora manage communication between boards and communities across the system?
o i.e. if a communities needs/suggestions are not reflected in local plans (as a priority action) how will this get feedback to the communities, even if it is a longer term aspiration.
* Include longer term feedback mechanisms in comms plan. For example, when initiatives/ideas/services aren’t included in immediate plans, feedback mechanisms for longer term aspirations should be thought of and planned for.
* Community groups bridge the gap between governmental agencies from different sectors. We need to work across the system if we want to embed a holistic hauora/ te whare tapa wha model effectively. This is the key to how people want to experience their health
* Spiritual forums and leaders should be considered to reach more people
* Community centres such as Strathmore Park CC are not a health or social provider. How might the roll out of localities include CC i.e. will health providers be commissioned to come to Strathmore CC rather than being commissioned to provide the service themselves?
* Relationships and responsibilities need to be clear to communities.
* Be honest about the limitations and be equal with the community. We are all one and we should behave in a way where relationships are at the front. Job titles and contracts don’t dictate who you are to a community
* Providers have dominance over the voice of the communities that they represent and are speaking on behalf of communities. Communities want to take back their voice.
Meeting notes – 8/09/2022
Discussion/ Questions
* How is Te Whatu ora ensuring the change happening is sustainable?
* How will we ensure the voice of people on the frontline are contributing to the development of plans?
* What does the annual planning cycle looking like?
* What are the timescales for change and implementation?
* What role will PHOs play in the new structure?
* What does a model look like for Wellington?
* How do we ensure the “why” in a locality plan? How will needs and aspirations of communities be reflected in the commissioning cycle?
* How will commissioners balance the priorities/demands of improving national outcomes, with locality directed need when the two do not align? In terms of investment, new initiatives.
3
* How could funding change for providers? Considerations should be given to
#1. Priority populations that provider serves,
#2. How the gentrification of urban areas affects the funding formula and
#3. That changes should be agreed together
Aspirations/Expectations
* Flexible service delivery – agreeing the “what” and allowing flexibility on “how” that is achieved. Communities know what is needed, are already well-networked and are able to reach whanau and people who do not typically engage with health services or “community consultation”
* For community consultation to be joined up across sectors – recognising that wellbeing and health is much wider than the services health offers.
o How can we work together?
o Connecting and relationship building around people, whanau, and communities.
* To enable the resources and skills to solve problems at the level which they arise
Principles:
* Shared power, shared accountability, shared decision making
* Personal information is sacred
* Invested community = meaningful change
* Embedding relationships into service delivery through trusted services
Ideas/ Actions:
* Develop a community health profile
* Developing a locality pack for the Newtown/Strathmore community
* Develop a strawman community proposal on a page/ articulating the needs in the Newtown/Strathmore areas, agreed on by the community
o Develop a working overarching vision for the community to test and adjust – aspirational collective vision
o Outcomes to collectively achieve
o Priority areas (statements of intent)
o History of the area – i.e. service and health provision history – what is the story for Newtown/Strathmore?
* What activities/services have been stopped that should be started again?
What exists now that doesn’t work for people and whanau?
Where do we have unnecessary duplication?
Where do we have gaps in service delivery that impact on the continuum of care?
o What could we measure to know whether we are making a difference? What statistics or outcome measures?
o Who are our key partners?
o How will the community be informed and engaged?
o Do we have any opportunities for quick wins?
* Developing the local narrative
o Overlaid with health and social data/ Gentrification over time
– Form an initial point of contact group with 4-5 of the leaders/ people present at meeting.
Notes written by Chontelle King and Eileen Brown
UCAN - United Community Action Network Aotearoa NZ 