Gifted practice a ‘magical space’: Expanded base for iwi’s quest to connect the unenrolled

This is a huge step towards tino rangatiratanga, mana motuhake and achieving iwi aspirations

Pinnacle PHO’s unprecedented gifting of Ōwhata Medical Centre to Ngāti Pikiao is the start of transformational change, says specialist GP Grace Malcolm.

Although there is much work to be done, “it’s quite a magical space to be in”, Dr Malcolm says.

“I am a very strong believer in ‘build it and they will come’ and, as we grow and make progress, this work will only become more attractive to our own [health practitioners] who are out there in the world.

Dr Malcolm, who is also chair of Te Arawa iwi Māori partnership board, will work at the practice alongside a locum GP with further support coming from nurse practitioners. Recruitment for more staff and upskilling of current staff is under way.

The iwi already has one practice, Te Runanga o Ngāti Pikiao Health Services, and plans to use the practices as satellites for a medical outreach service.

Their biggest challenge, says Dr Malcolm (Te Arawa, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Pikiao, Tapuika, Ngararanui, Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāti Tūrangitukua), will be to reconnect the region’s 7000-strong unenrolled population.

“But we need to build a stable clinic first so we can continue to look after the people we are looking after now, and then start to address issues around the unenrolled,” she says.

Former practice owner and retired GP John Armstrong says he is “over the moon” about the gifting.

“I just think it’s wonderful, and you have to give credit to Pinnacle.”

Pinnacle chief executive Justin Butcher and about 20 PHO staff attended the gifting ceremony held at Pounamunui Marae, east of Rotorua, on 1 October.

“I walked away from the marae feeling a mix of emotional – it was an incredibly humbling experience – and pride in what our PHO has done,” Mr Butcher said on 2 October. “I’m still absolutely buzzing from it.”

The PHO and iwi began talking about the future of the practice last year, with the Ngāti Pikiao leadership suggesting the idea of a gifting.

“Then we went through this conversation,” he says. “Can we do this? Should we do this? And came to the conclusion this was the best way forward to achieve the outcomes we are all looking for.

“It was simply the right thing to do, and I can’t speak for Ngāti Pikiao, but this is a huge step towards tino rangatiratanga, mana motuhake and achieving iwi aspirations.” Mr Butcher declined to say how much the PHO has written off after purchasing the practice in 2018, saying: “I don’t want to take away from the gifting.”

Dr Armstrong says the gifting recognises the historic generosity of Te Arawa, who gave the land for the construction of schools and a hospital.

“Māori will not forget this, in terms of the gesture of the gifting, and I am sure it will be talked about for a long time to come,” Dr Armstrong says.

He hopes his family’s involvement in the area will continue, with his daughter, Tawa Hunter, planning to return home in the next few years. Dr Hunter was named Junior Doctor of the Year by the Australasian Confederation of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils in 2021.