Excellence in Patient Care

Manaaki Mamao (Remote Care)

Hato Hone St John

Team: Nick Coley, Mark Cribbens, Malcolm Kendall, Kwan-Lyn Lim, Jess Verdon

Life expectancy for M–aori and Pasifika is significantly less than the general population of Aotearoa (New Zealand). M–aori and Pasifika are also much more likely to die from a heart attack or stroke. Hato Hone St John’s overarching strategy, Manaaki Ora, identifies working towards health equity as one of our five strategic aims.

What is Manaaki Mamao: It is our proactive digital telehealth service, designed around M–aori and Pasifika patients. It takes a culturally competent, people led, and technology enabled approach to addressing health inequities. It is inclusive by design and allows patients to manage their health conditions from the comfort of home and with family support if desired. Our initial focus is on hypertension (high blood pressure) given its relationship with heart attack and stroke.

Manaaki Mamao focuses on the partnerships between four key parties:

• All care centres on the patient and wh–anau (family), as M–aori and Pasifika are a collective rather than an individual-based society and it is important to create opportunity for family involvement.

• Hauora (M–aori health) or mainstream healthcare providers own the relationship with the patient and refer them to the service. Providers receive regular trend reports for each enrolled patient and are notified when follow-up is required

• Hato Hone St John is the link between the patient and the hauora / healthcare provider including onboarding, installation, and training. Our clinicians, who are qualified paramedics, provide regular wellbeing and clinical care; monitoring of vitals; and emergency escalation if required

• Spritely provides locally based software co-designed with people who struggle using technology. Our national footprint and infrastructure combined with hauora / healthcare providers’ strong local community connections creates synergies and drives enhanced health outcomes for M–aori and Pasifika. Within our team, cultural competency training is carried out as part of the induction process when new staff are onboarded. We believe this makes a difference and helps gain the patient’s trust and engagement.

Manaaki Mamao successfully launched in December 2021 with funding from the Ministry of Health. Initial results are promising:

• A high percentage of patients recording a reduction in their weekly recorded blood pressure and positive lifestyle changes

• 93 patients referred from their GP

• 17 interventions/referrals to other health services

• Feedback from patients using the service is they value being supported in this way.