Taupō practice embraces tikanga to strengthen care for whānau Māori

A Taupō general practice is helping lead the way in culturally confident care, becoming the first practice outside Pinnacle Midlands Health Network’s original pilot sites to fully adopt the PHO’s Tikanga in Practice resources and training.

Pinnacle developed Tikanga in Practice to support their general practice teams to feel more confident engaging with whānau Māori in ways that are respectful, practical and grounded in everyday care.

Wellspring Medical Centre in Taupō recently completed the programme, taking time as a team to reflect on how tikanga can be meaningfully woven into their practice environment, conversations and patient experiences.

Staff said the workshops created a welcoming and open space for learning, discussion and reflection.

“The session created a really welcoming and engaging environment, and our team came away having learnt a lot and feeling more confident in applying tikanga within our practice setting,” the team said.

Charlie Poihipi, Programme lead Māori health & equity at Pinnacle, said the resource is about helping teams feel comfortable bringing tikanga into everyday practice in ways that feel genuine and meaningful.

“Tikanga in Practice is really about giving teams the confidence to have a go, to ask questions, and to think about what makes whānau Māori feel welcomed and respected when they come into a practice.

“It’s been great to see Wellspring take it on board and make it part of how they work.”

The Wellspring team shared examples throughout the rollout of how they are working to create a practice environment that feels more grounded, welcoming and responsive for Māori patients and whānau.

Their feedback and experiences will also help shape the next stage of the resource as it continues to be rolled out more widely across the Pinnacle network.

Charlie said the willingness of practices to openly participate, reflect and share their experiences has been critical to the programme’s development.

“We’re grateful to the three pilot practices who helped us test this from the start. They opened their doors, gave honest feedback, and helped make the resource much stronger.”

The three original pilot practices were Hamilton East Medical Centre, Grandview Medical Centre and Tokoroa Medical Centre.

Tikanga in Practice is expected to continue expanding across the network, supporting practices to strengthen relationships with hapori Māori and embed culturally safe approaches into everyday primary care.

For more information about Tikanga in Practice, contact tikanga@pinnacle.health.nz or speak with your Development Manager.