Huakina Development Trust te tumu whakarae Maria Clarke says the arrival of Covid-19 encouraged innovation and exploration of how technology could enable “whānau to care for whānau”. A pilot project was funded by Te Puni Kōkiri through Te Whatu Ora and the Ministry of Social Development. Four marae and three whare oranga were involved in the six-month trial using portable pods. The pilot started in May 2022 and trained whānau kaiarahi to remotely triage patients for the virtual GP. The training includes the use of non-invasive health technology; MTX bio blood parameters monitoring, BioBeat watches or patches, a small multi lead ECG, and an integrated stethoscope that allows a doctor to look at a patient’s ear, nose and throat as well as oscillate the heart and lungs, all from a remote location.
Huakina Development Trust collaborated with technology company SekiTech to develop a virtual care model based around marae and delivered by trained kaiārahi or nurses.
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The use of the remote ECG device led to 17 kaumatua accessing urgent care and emergency with previously undiagnosed heart conditions. None had been attending regular appointments with their registered service and are now on treatment plans. Clarke says gaining access to affordable health care for Māori is a struggle with wait times for appointments between two to four weeks. “Health is a huge issue and we were trying to find solutions that make a difference to our people,” she tells eHealthNews.nz. “After sufficient training, our staff have the confidence to become the bridge between whānau and the GP, while being able to maintain the level of trust built through our wrap around social services. This is the perfect way to do Māori health.” Clarke says this kaupapa focuses on wellness rather than sickness, with everybody involved in the care of the patient. “Marae health is fundamental to Māori health, which is why we are delivering at marae and whare oranga,” she says. The vision of Huakina Development Trust is “Ka tu Rangatira ia, hei oranga mo tatou” (to be healthy and well everyone must lead). Clarke would like to see all Māori providers get access to this innovation and have remote monitoring expanded into people’s homes. Sekitech chief medical John Mayhew says during the pilot, less urgent exams were stored to the cloud and reviewed remotely while he was working from home. If he decided a patient needed to be seen again an appointment was made through SekiTech’s virtual platform and the relevant nurse or clinic notified. Of 5000 visits during the pilot, more than 2000 were referred on to a doctor for review. Forty whānau also used the technology at home, and remote monitoring of heart rate variability, a key marker of anxiety, resulted in seven mental health referrals. John Mamea-Wilson, Sekitech chief executive, says the service has 32 GPs working remotely full-time and part time across the motu. Fourteen of them are semi-retired and their dedicated GP service Gp2you.health is receiving more CVs every day. "With an ageing GP workforce, this model is a great way to keep experienced doctors employed and engaged in the health system in a flexible way that works for them", he says. "We've got GPs from Nelson, Timaru, Kawerau and Geraldine caring for Huakina whānau using our online platform and digital hardware.” SekiTech are also working with Whānau Tahi to bring health and social services together through the Whanau Plan: a user designed and consented plan where both social and medical data can provide a true whānau led model of care. Picture: The four health pods were located at Nga Tai E Rua, Te Awamarahi, Tauranganui, and Weraroa marae and whare oranga in Mangatangi, Ooraeroa and Nga Hau E Wha.
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