Pinnacle was a prominent contributor to the RNZCGP conference participating in several presentations and panel discussions. Congratulations to Dr Dave Maplesden on his Distinguished Fellowship and to Dr Hayley Scott who received the Eric Elder Medal.

This week we are announcing a strategic partnership between Pinnacle Incorporated and K'aute Pasifika, forming a new venture named Fatu Lalaga. This collaboration marks a significant step forward in our shared commitment to provide excellent and equitable healthcare for Pacific, Māori, and priority populations.

Youth Week recognise the youth workers, youth service providers and others working with and for rangatahi. We'd like to say ngā mihi nui to our team doing the mahi, supporting rangatahi to enhance their wellbeing, resilience, readiness to learn, and academic success.

World Family Doctor Day, on Sunday 19 May, is an occasion to highlight the intrinsic connection between the health of our planet and the wellbeing of our patients, emphasising the critical role primary healthcare can play in promoting sustainable health practices. We hope you enjoy this quick video message from our clinical director, Dr Jo Scott-Jones.

On Sunday 12 May we celebrate International Nurses Day to remember Florence Nightingale, the Mother of Modern Nursing, and her many contributions to our profession. It’s appropriate that this year on the same day, we also celebrate Mother's Day.

Pinnacle strongly disagrees with claims by Te Whatu Ora at a Building the Future of Health webinar series on Tuesday 7 May that up to 50 per cent of general practice work could be done by telehealth.

On 1 October 2023 Pinnacle CE Justin Butcher joined Pinnacle colleagues, kaumātua, and board and Māori governance rōpū members, in Rōtorua to officially gift one of our practices, Ōwhata Medical Centre, to Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Pikiao. Read Justin's thoughts on this partnership here.

We're thrilled to announce Hinetu Kallon Nikora, a patient service representative in our Patient Access Centre (PAC), as the inaugural recipient of Kia Puāwai, Pinnacle’s Māori Education Fund.

From 1 July 2024, Pinnacle is changing the focus of the quality plan to support capacity and capability building in general practice. There will also be a change to how quality plan funds are allocated. This funding is not attached to targets, and will enable you to build capacity.

Katoa, a new customised app, will make it easier for Pinnacle staff and the Midlands Health Network to learn and use Māori language, culture and customs in their day-to-day work. Katoa aims to support Pinnacle’s efforts to build a culturally aware health workforce across the network.