AN iwi medics training programme has began on the East Coast.
A powhiri was held at Torere Marae on Friday, marking the official launch of the New Zealand Certificate of Emergency Care that will train local people in first responder roles for ambulances or settings such as outdoor education, marine, industrial and volunteer rescue.
The programme is expected to be the harbinger of greater hauora and achieving health equity for whanau Maori, hapu and iwi.
The iwi initiative, developed by Ngai Tai iwi and Pro-Med, aims to build capacity for their people, including Ririwhenua, Upokorehe and Ngai Tamahaua hapu and is the first programme in the nation to be based at a marae.
Pro-Med paramedic and trainer Shaun Cleaver said the course, run through Whitireia Polytechnic, would be delivered to students on their own whenua and marae.
During the level four lockdown, three paramedics, including Mr Cleaver, were based at the marae and provided whanau Maori with health checks and helped with manning the testing stations.
That’s when there was a discovery made for the need for community resilience, he said.
“Rather than take over their hauora (health), the goal was to help them to help themselves.
“This is the first part of a much bigger vision for the people here,” Mr Cleaver said.
Approximately 200 people live in the rural town, 80 percent of them over the age of 60 and with several high-risk factors.
“Maori health outcomes aren’t great, so, this is about doing more for themselves. Accessibility was also an issue.
“Because of where they’re based, a lot of the time, the response time isn’t sufficient.”
He said, however, it’s not so much about the remoteness. It’s more about empowering the people here to take more ownership of their own hauora.
“Everyone on paper has the same access to healthcare, but if that care is an hour away, and you don’t own a car, or if that healthcare is online and you don’t have wireless, than it’s not equitable.
“It’s really exciting times because it’s the first time that it’s been done at an iwi level. It’s about building capability within the community so that people are getting a good level of care until the more advanced care arrives.”
Ngai Tai tautoko advocacy and paramedic Stephen Dennett said the goal for training iwi paramedics, was to empower runanga, iwi and hapu to have some mana motuhake (independence) around pre-hospital and out-of-hospital care, youth care and mental health.
“It’s about enabling them to care for their own people and themselves without depending on a mainstream service.”
Kayreen Tapuke, a Nga Tai iwi representative and student on the course, said the focus was on uplifting their people and adding value to their lives.
“We have extremely high-risk groups here. During the lockdown, we had at least 40 of our people turn up because it is about accessibility. The pop-up stations provided equity and equality for everyone.
“We visited many of our kaumatua who were very frightened because they were isolated and they had no mokopuna with them.
“We want to enhance our people’s lives, so, we need to get back to using our rangatira (chief) lens. Those structures are already in place, so, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
“We plan to achieve health equity and reduce the disparity in Maori health through the new initiative.”