Auckland City Mission and CareHQ partner on telehealth service to help meet increased demand

CareHQ, the online GP service and joint venture between ProCare and Southern Cross Health Insurance, has partnered with Auckland City Mission - Te Tāpui Atawhai to launch a co-designed telehealth clinic in support of the Mission’s Calder Health Centre.

The new collaboration means Calder Health Centre can now triage telehealth appropriate cases onsite at the centre, using nurse-led hybrid consultations. Alongside the clinic’s nursing team, CareHQ’s Specialist GP Fellows remotely engage with the patient, using telehealth to deliver a whānau-centric approach.

Jacqui Dillon from the Mission said that many of Calder Health Centre’s clients face complex issues such as experiencing homelessness, mental health concerns, and substance abuse disorders, so having easy access to healthcare is imperative.

“Over the past few years, as with the rest of the country’s primary care sector, we’ve seen changing demand for our services with the impact of COVID-19.

“Having CareHQ alongside our team has allowed us to stretch our limited resources so our patients can have equitable access to care they need within a reasonable timeframe,” she said.

Dr Reza Jarral, Clinical Director, CareHQ said: “Everyone has a right to quality, accessible healthcare and medical support. So when the ProCare Equity team connected us with the Mission team, we were excited to find a way to work together and make healthcare more accessible for whānau from at-risk communities.

“The Mission undertakes some incredible mahi, caring for some of Auckland’s very high-needs population and providing them with essential treatment and support. We feel privileged to work alongside them providing care to our communities.

“This collaboration ensures that more people in need can access healthcare and medical support. Through the partnership, CareHQ will be actively contributing to the overall wellness of Tāmaki Makaurau, and we look forward to seeing how the service grows over the coming year,” adds Dr Jarral.

Critical healthcare support has already been provided to Calder Health Centre patients through the CareHQ service, including helping a patient access ACC-funded rehabilitation after a domestic violence injury, guiding a young mother to accessible dental care, and helping a patient get a refill of regular medications that allowed her to travel to visit her mother in palliative care.

Dr Jarral concluded “Many of us working in health get into this work because we care about people and want to make sure that each and every person gets the help they need, when they need it.”

The Calder Health Centre CareHQ clinic runs weekly on a Thursday. Launched in late February the clinic has helped more than 80 patients access the healthcare they need.