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Hauora Tuawhenua

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The Rural Health Workstream is working towards improving health outcomes for the rural Canterbury population by enabling appropriate access to health care services in rural areas.

The Workstream is currently working to achieve equity of outcome across Canterbury by reviewing and planning the organisation and structure of rural health care services in context of the wider Canterbury health system.  This includes defining rural in the Canterbury context, promoting clinically and fiscally sustainable health services in rural areas, encouraging and recommending innovative solutions that support rural health services, and providing recommendations with a rural focus to other CCN Workstreams and Service Level Alliances.

Latest News
01Nov

Waitaha’s rural hospitals reopen

01 Nov, 2022 | Return|

The first residents were welcomed back to Ellesmere Hospital on Monday 31 October. Te Whatu Ora Waitaha are working with whānau, general practices and community providers at Darfield and Waikari Hospitals to bring residents back over the following week.  

“We are really pleased that these facilities have reopened and are ready to provide care to people based in our rural communities,” says Becky Hickmott, Executive Director of Nursing, Te Whatu Ora Waitaha Canterbury. 

“Our vision for rural health services is that people are able to access a range of support locally that enables them to stay well.  We understand that a whole range of different things can impact a person’s wellbeing and enabling older people from our rural communities to remain near their whānau can play a big role in this, particularly due to the type of care these facilities provide.” 

“Te Whatu Ora Waitaha is committed to investing in rural communities and we will continue work in partnership with them, and our staff who know their communities best, to continue to develop the service model of these facilities based on modern, evidence-based practice.”

The closure of the rural hospitals, including Oxford, was a temporary measure due to the challenges in providing safe staffing during the COVID-19 Omicron outbreak. Oxford Hospital reopened in June.

Rural hospitals operate under the Aged Residential Care contract, offering respite and end of life services. If you have a query about accessing any services provided by one of our rural hospitals, please contact your normal healthcare provider.  

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Useful resources

Work Plan 2021-22

For Rural Health Workstream. Read full CCN work plan.