A trial collaboration between the Hurunui’s general practices and St John means local people can access urgent care after-hours from the district’s GP teams.

The new after-hours arrangements, which sees patients charged as registered patients no matter which practice provides the care, is just one proposal that’s been realised following feedback from the community about enhancements to health services for the Hurunui community.

Accessing after-hours care under the new collaboration is easy – if it’s an emergency call 111 and ask for an ambulance. Otherwise, call your general practice team and a nurse will assess your needs, advise you what to do and if necessary, call out the doctor or nurse on call.

Marie Black, Chair of the Hurunui Health Services Development Group said: “We’ve worked together to establish a collaborative arrangement that provides our communities with access to urgent after-hours care and manages the demands on practice staff.

“I want to acknowledge the Canterbury DHB for supporting the enhancements we recommended, and making additional investment to sustain and improve health services for our region. It is great to see the Canterbury Clinical Network community engagement and development process work as anticipated.”

Other proposals in the new model that are now coming to fruition, include the availability of improved access to community-based mental health specialists and telehealth services.

From early next year, residents of the Hurunui and Kaikoura will have improved access to seamless mental health support from two full-time Rural Mental Health Specialists working alongside local general practice teams. These clinicians will complement existing mental health services by focusing on early intervention, clinical assessments and facilitating timely access to specialised mental health services.

Paul Wynands, Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Rural Canterbury Primary Health Organisation (RCPHO), said: “A feature of these roles will be to manage patients who might usually be referred to a specialist mental health team, closer to their homes. They will take a holistic approach by offering advice and education to the patient and their family/ whanau ensuring close community connections to sustain wellness in the community.”

RCPHO has also worked to improve broadband speeds and equipment for telehealth (video calling) at all health centres. This is an important step towards avoiding unnecessary travel by supporting people to have appointments with Christchurch-based specialists from locally based health facilities, supported by a health professional.

The Hurunui Health Services Development Group, which includes local community members, health professionals and Canterbury DHB staff continues to progress the implementation of other proposals in the model of care. These include:

• Trialling an observation service in the Hurunui allowing very unwell people to stay in the Hurunui and be monitored, saving them a trip to Christchurch Hospital and back;
• Recruiting and placement of skilled doctors and nurses in our area; and
• Improving local access to pre-natal care.

More information will be made available as enhancements are implemented