Pinnacle’s growing mātanga tapuhi nurse practitioner and nurse prescriber workforce is having a significant impact across the network, relieving pressure on GPs, providing patients with greater access to healthcare, and reducing acute calls and hospital admissions.

Every fortnight inside a whare at Parihaka Papakāinga in Taranaki, people can be found laughing and catching up with whānau in the Whakaihu Taiora clinic waiting room. They’re there because of a new health initiative designed to respond to community need.

When practice nurse Huia Brady heard about the Pinnacle nursing scholarship aimed at improving equity and access in primary care, she saw an opportunity to make positive change for patients.