The Rural Training Hub would help train more health professionals closer to the communities they would serve, across Māori health, primary, community and hospital services, he said.
“Rural communities know that when you train people locally, they’re far more likely to stay local. That’s exactly what these hubs are designed to do.”
Rural Training Hubs have already been rolled out in the past year in South Taranaki, Wairoa and the West Coast.
Funding for Northland’s Rural Training Hub, plus any extra money to keep clinicians in rural areas once they were trained, was not guaranteed beyond a dedicated programme lead, said Dr Jeff Brown, Health New Zealand chief adviser education (medical).
It would be up to the programme lead to look at the rural training already in Northland and work out what was needed, from placements to pastoral care, he said.
Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey (centre, front) attended a pōwhiri in Whangārei for the announcement alongside Paraone Tai Tin (front left) and Health New Zealand education adviser Jeff Brown (right). Photo / Denise Piper
The Rural Training Hub was deliberately non-prescriptive so Te Tai Tokerau could decide what it needed and how it wanted to govern this, he said.
Brown, a paediatrician who trained in Northland in the 1980s, said he never forgot seeing Northland settlements with no roads and no power, and wondering how those people accessed healthcare.
He agreed it was more expensive to both train and retain clinicians in rural settings.
But Brown thought there could be some money in the Health Budget’s $33.5 billion envelope to be shifted to more rural funding, as long as it was going to the right place.
He gave an example from Hāwera of hospital and general practice nurses training together.
Health New Zealand group director of operations for Te Tai Tokerau, Alex Pimm, agreed there was a need for better relationships – particularly between hospitals and primary care, who were almost competing for nurses at present.
Hauora Hokianga chief executive Margareth Broodkoorn says she supports the idea of a Rural Training Hub specifically for Te Tai Tokerau.
“We [Health New Zealand hospitals] are relying on primary care to take patients once they’ve finished their secondary care – it’s important to us.
“There’s a lot more we can do out of the hub, there are opportunities where we can work together or have joint appointments.”
Hauora Hokianga chief executive Margareth Broodkoorn, who attended the announcement on behalf of Northland Māori health providers, said she supported the idea of a Rural Training Hub specifically for Te Tai Tokerau.
She still had some questions about how the programme would work but saw potential in what was proposed.
“I like the collectivity of bringing it all together and not having to travel three hours to get to some training, it’s hugely beneficial.”
Denise Piper is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on health and business. She has more than 20 years in journalism and is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.