Media Statement
Friday 25 July 2014
Rural Health Services Unaffected Despite Sale of Buildings
Turanga Health’s general practice and rural health services will continue despite potential changes to who owns the Te
Karaka and Matawai health buildings, says Turanga Health Chief Executive Reweti Ropiha.
“Changes in who owns the bricks and mortar do not necessitate any changes in the level of service we offer patients in
Matawai and Te Karaka. Patients will still be able to see the doctor and the nurse in their own communities”.
Mr Ropiha’s comments came after an announcement from current building owners, Tairawhiti District Health, that it
intends to sell the buildings Turanga Health currently operates out of. Since 2010 Turanga Health has rented a house on
Rangatira Road, and the Waikohu Health Centre on Station Road in Te Karaka, from Tairawhiti District Health. Turanga
Health has maintained the Rangatira Road house but no doctor has lived there since 2010. Turanga Health spent around
$20,000 refurbishing the Waikohu Health Centre in 2011 creating more space for patient consultations, a smart welcoming
waiting room and reception area, and better office and meeting space for health staff. Mr Ropiha said it was likely any
new owner of the Waikohu Health Centre building would continue to want Turanga Health as tenants.
Mr Ropiha says Turanga Health is owned by local iwi and its services are community-based and patient-directed. “We are
intertwined with the community and as a result influenced by the community. There is no change in everyone’s dedication
to this service."
Turanga Health also rents a main road house in Matawai. There is no one currently living in the house. Once a week the
visiting Waikohu Health Centre doctor, and or nurses, use the small clinic room on the roadside of the house to see
patients. Mr Ropiha says more often now Piki Te Ora, Turanga Health’s state-of-the-art mobile clinic, is used to manage
patient clinics. Cervical screening, influenza vaccination, and diabetes clinics are also done in the clinic which is
known locally as ‘the bus’.
“The bus is a contemporary clinic which features all the technology and equipment you would expect to find in a static
clinic. It’s warm, offers privacy for consultations, and is cleverly compact.” Mr Ropiha says there is no reason the bus
couldn’t be used for the normal weekly rural clinics. There is also an opportunity for Turanga Health to invest in an
existing community facility. “Turanga Health is interested to see if there is an appetite in the Matawai community for
us to help add value to an existing setting”.
Ends