Retention of kaupapa Maori health services on West Coast

19 July 2012

Changes ensure retention of kaupapa Maori health services on West Coast

Improved Maori health is the primary objective of a major restructuring of the only designated Maori health provider on the West Coast of the South Island.

The changes to the operation of Rata Te Awhina Trust were announced today (19 July 2012) by trust Chair Susan Wallace, in conjunction with the West Coast District Health Board.

“Rata Te Awhina Trust has welcomed the joint appointment with West Coast DHB of a change manager to oversee some big changes in our organisation and the way we deliver health services on Te Tai o Poutini,” Miss Wallace says. “These changes are vital if the trust is to be truly effective in its delivery of health and social services to Maori.”

Currently Rata Te Awhina is contracted to deliver health and community services for Maori by the West Coast DHB, Ministry of Social Development, Te Puni Kokiri, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice and the Department of Corrections. These contracts encompass programmes as diverse as whanau support, a community garden, truancy services, domestic violence services, mental health services and health care and promotion. The principal funder and contractor is the West Coast DHB.

“A change to the board of trustees last year resulted in increased input from Makaawhio and Ngati Waewae runanga and their commitment to securing trust’s future,” Miss Wallace says. “Further, an independent report commissioned by the trust showed that to secure delivery of services to Maori on Te Tai o Poutini, and ensure those services meet the expectations of our funders and, more importantly, deliver effectively for our clients, then organisational change has to follow the changes that have already occurred at governance level.”

Miss Wallace says the Rata board has charged a steering group led by trust Deputy Chair, Francois Tumahai to bring about the organisational change needed. During the change process Rata’s clients will continue to be supported and receive a full service.

“The appointment of a change manager not only helps protect the financial investment, it gives us the expertise we need to improve the organisation’s delivery. Our proposals will benefit Maori, put the trust on a sound footing and ensure delivery and accountability of the contracts.”

West Coast DHB Chief Executive David Meates says the DHB sees this as a critical issue as there is only one Maori health provider on the Coast, but there were some concerns re the effectiveness of service delivery by that provider.

“This is a great solution for us,” Mr Meates says. “Rata Trust’s willingness to work with a change manager gives us surety and accountability while supporting the retention of a vital kaupapa Maori service.”

Miss Wallace says the change manager, Michael O’Dea, has been engaged for a period of three months to put a new organisational structure in place. Changes to job descriptions and redundancies are a possibility, but the trust and Mr O’Dea will work very closely with staff to manage through that process.

“In the report commissioned into the operations of the trust, I am inspired by its introductory remarks, which resonate like a whakatauākī,” Miss Wallace says. “It reads:

‘To travel into the future the waka must be readied for the choppy seas ahead – it must be strong and sound, lashings repaired, cracks fixed and karakia given – before leaving the beach. Whilst the tohunga whakairo – the master carvers of the waka –must be acknowledged and recognised for what they have created, and the captains of past voyages commended for the destinations they have achieved, the future is always about the next voyage to the next destination and having the right crew…The seas will be rough, there will be turbulence and obstacles ahead, provisions are lean, strength and perseverance will be tested. (But) the only alternatives are to stay on the beach and go nowhere, or trade the waka.’”

Editors’ note:
Rata Te Awhina Trust has been operating on the West Coast for more than 21 years. It employs around 30 staff providing community and health services the length of the West Coast from a base in Hokitika. The new Trust Board was appointed approximately ten months ago with a mandate for change.

Michael O’Dea is from a well known West Coast Family. He is an experienced change manager already contracted to the West Coast DHB. He will report dually to the Rata Trust and the DHB. He will work with the steering group to develop a new plan for change and establishing the systems to ensure that change can be put into place and maintained.

ENDS

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