Pinnacle-wide Te Whatu Ora updates regarding the Community Referred Radiology (CRR) Programme, dengue fever and the latest new and updated HealthPathways pathways.

From September 2025, all children under five can receive the fully funded meningococcal B vaccine (Bexsero), allowing those who missed doses in their first year to complete the course. Around 77,000 children are expected to benefit.
Pharmac is also simplifying access to funded Covid medications—people over 50, and those at risk of complications, can receive treatment from 1 September, alongside continued access for immunocompromised and vulnerable people under 50.

Te Kaunihera Manapou | Paramedic Council is exploring the possibility of paramedics in Aotearoa New Zealand gaining prescribing authority. The Council is seeking early feedback from paramedics, stakeholders across the health sector, and the public on how familiar you are with prescribing, your level of support, and safeguards or training you think are needed.

Te Whatu Ora is pleased to share three new funding opportunities to grow and support the primary and community care nursing workforce. These new funding opportunities aim to support new nurses to start their careers in the community, grow the pipeline of nurse practitioners and increase access to prescribing and advanced nursing care. 

Te Whatu Ora is introducing mandatory national criteria for Community Referred Radiology (CRR) from 1 September 2025, replacing the previous regionally adapted framework. These changes aim to standardise access and improve equity nationwide.

The Ministry of Health has published new clinical guidelines for the assessment and treatment of ADHD. Te Whatu Ora has confirmed that adult ADHD services will not be publicly funded and must be accessed privately. The framework supports GPs, who complete appropriate self-directed training, to diagnose and initiate treatment for ADHD. The College of GPs is developing an education package to support this training, expected to launch by Christmas 2025.

Malnutrition is a serious health issue in Aotearoa, yet there is no national policy to guide care. Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland is inviting primary health care professionals to complete a 10-minute survey to help build a clearer picture of current practice. If you work with adults in primary care, your input is valued. Survey closes Monday 4 August.

An alert has been issued to all EDs after 300 cartridges of Suntree Vanilla Cream vape solution were sold nationwide, containing four times the recommended limit of diacetyl — a substance linked to bronchiolitis obliterans. The risk to consumers is expected to be low due to limited exposure. If a patient presents with respiratory symptoms after using this product, please carry out a routine respiratory assessment and provide usual care as needed.

World Breastfeeding Week (1–7 August) is a chance to celebrate and uplift breastfeeding as an important part of giving pēpi (babies) the best start in life. The Taranaki Whangai Ū (breastfeeding) group want to shine a light on the free, community-based lactation support services available to whānau. These services are easy to access — whānau can self-refer using the contact details on the sticker on the front of their pēpi Well Child book. General practice teams can also help by referring directly using the referral form attached, which can be sent to any of the providers.

Although vaping is not smoking, it is a health risk and should be recorded in clinical records. Recording vaping is additional to recording smoking status. Patients who have stopped smoking and are currently vaping exclusively can be coded as ex-smoking. Recording a person as ex-vaping has value, especially if the person is using vaping to quit smoking and will then quit vaping. The following SNOMED CT codes and Read codes should be used to record vaping status.