Joint venture primary mental health partnership

ProCare Health Ltd and Tū Ora Compass Health are pleased to announce the signing of an agreement to align their respective mental health services – in order to enable a stronger primary mental health service for communities across Aotearoa.

Over the coming year, ProCare Health and Tū Ora Compass, as two leading providers of primary mental health services nationally, will work towards integrating their services into a single operating model – Fresh Minds New Zealand – that will effectively cater for the various needs of our diverse population in New Zealand within primary mental health care.

The aim of the aligned national service offering is to ensure our communities have ready access to high value, reliable and quality primary mental health and wellbeing services as and when they need it.

Tū Ora Compass acting CEO Justine Thorpe, says it’s about bringing together and consolidating the two PHOs’ expertise, capability and capacity in primary mental health and wellbeing to respond to the new direction in this space, heralded by the Government’s recent Wellbeing Budget.

“Given the Government’s focus on ensuring barriers to mental health and addiction services are dramatically reduced for New Zealanders, we believe the time is now to work collectively to ensure we have an effective model in place across Aotearoa to tackle mental health and addictions support in general practice,” says Ms Thorpe.

ProCare CEO Steve Boomert says ProCare Health is proud of the work it does within primary mental health to develop new models of care, so people have easier access to quality mental health support in a timely manner.

“For us, it’s about ensuring every New Zealander gets the right to live well,” says Mr Boomert.

“Together with Tū Ora Compass we are committed to ensuring the mental health needs of New Zealanders continue to be supported and integrated within our practices at a primary care level.”

Tū Ora Compass and ProCare Health individually provide primary mental health services to more than a quarter of New Zealand’s enrolled population in the country’s densest population centres (Wellington and Auckland), through established mental health services and our two leading innovation programmes - Te Tumu Waiora and Piki.
For the two organisations therefore, the partnership is an opportunity to ensure the benefits of programmes like Te Tumu Waiora and Piki reach more of those people who need the support.
“The Government’s Wellbeing Budget has given primary care the mandate to keep moving forward with initiatives that have proven to help break down barriers when it comes to accessing mental health and addiction services,” says Mr Boomert.

“So, it makes sense that we work together to ensure more New Zealanders get the support they need.”

Collaboration to achieve better outcomes for more New Zealanders is the founding principle of the partnership between the two PHOs.

“By working together and combining our experience in providing effective primary mental health care programmes, backed by clinical expertise, international best practice, and empathy, we will be able to more effectively reach a larger portion of our diverse communities across New Zealand and give them access to the support they need,” says Ms Thorpe.

Fresh Minds New Zealand is a social enterprise whose purpose is to achieve thriving mind, mood and wellbeing in Aotearoa. The service delivers innovative mind, mood and wellbeing services for at-risk communities, youth and family.

Johnny O’Connell, currently GM Patient Services for ProCare has been appointed CEO of Fresh Minds New Zealand, effective immediately.

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