“We are honoured to be finalists for a second year in a row” says Greig Dean, CE of Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance (EBPHA). This weekend Mr Dean and the Integrated Case Management (ICM) Team travel to Auckland for the New Zealand Primary Healthcare Awards. The ICM team are finalists in the Southern Cross Health Insurance primary and secondary integration award.
The award recognizes the success of an initiative that is a direct result of a primary and secondary collaboration and can demonstrate: a patient centred focus, innovation, sustainability, and a positive impact on health equity. “Our nomination is thanks to the hard work and effort of the ICM team, who over the past 12 months have championed or assisted several innovative initiatives”, says Mr Dean.
Such initiatives include a pilot Cellulitis-MRSA Star Pathway programme, which is a collaboration between EBPHA and the Whakatāne hospital. The aim is to reduce hospital admissions of Cellulitis patients by accessing free treatment at their general practice. Members of the ICM team have also been involved in the National Bowel Screening workstream, and their role is to advocate equitable engagement and outcomes for the Māori community.
“We adapted the ICM service in 2014 to better address the unique healthcare needs of our community. To be recognised as a finalist by the New Zealand Primary Healthcare Awards validates that our service is on the right track and we will continue to innovate to meet the healthcare needs of the Eastern Bay”, says Mr Dean.
The Health reforms announced by MP Andrew Little, indicate Tier 1 (primary and community) services will be organised by a locality network. “I see the change as a great opportunity to improve patient experience and to deliver greater efficiency, value and equity from health delivery systems in the Eastern Bay. It will finally address the fragmentation of existing services that assist our locality of 54,000”, says Mr Dean.
In 2020, EBPHA’s Counselling Team were finalists in the Habit Group Best Mental Health Programme.