Chief Executive Officer’s Report It is a privilege to present this year’s annual report, and to look back on the collective achievements of our network and the Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation as a whole. It is fair to say the past year has been one of enormous change, some of it planned and some of it an extension of the unpredictability we all face working in health during a global pandemic. COVID-19 and the arrival of the Delta variant has continued to impact the way we deliver services. General Practices, our iwi partners and the entire PHO team must be commended for their unified health response under the pressure of another snap national lockdown in August. For the second time in just over a year, teams were mobilised to support the changing needs of our practices and population. Traditional models were turned on their head and we saw the return of virtual consultations, with CHIEF E XECUTIVE OFFICER LINDSE Y WEBBER
practices triaging patients over the phone. To support the outreach effort our Iwi partners, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Ranginui, pulled out all the stops to engage with Māori communities closer to their homes. COVID-19 vaccination and swabbing teams operated drive-through services at targeted pop-up sites, scaling them up at short notice to meet the community need. The PHO’s nurse leaders provided training to boost the vaccinator workforce in kaupapa Māori mobile clinics and at the Port of Tauranga
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where Ngāti Ranginui led the COVID-19 vaccination programme of border workers earlier in the year. On-site surveillance testing was also a critical service delivered at the Port and we’re very grateful to the PHO nurses, Public Health nurses, and kaiāwhina (support workers) from Te Runganga o Ngāti Ranginui, as well as Toi Ohomai students who were trained to carry out testing. The collective mahi has been a true demonstration of whanaungatanga and manaakitanga that have become hallmarks of our network’s service delivery in the Bay of Plenty. General Practices have also been actively involved in the vaccination rollout across Tauranga Moana and Whakatāne. In addition to the tireless work they have done to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, we should never underestimate the important role that clinicians provide in educating our population about the Pfizer vacccine’s safety and effectiveness. Thank you to our incredible GP and nursing teams for having those trusted, one-on-one conversations with patients – it is work that has helped to accelerate our vaccination rates and, ultimately, keep more people and their whānau protected from the virus. While we, as professionals in health, simply get on with the job of serving our community during times of crisis and immense anxiety, I think it’s important to take stock and
