Te Hau o Te Ora acquires Mataura Medical Centre

Te Hau o Te Ora, Partnered Primary Care Services Ltd, is acquiring the Mataura Medical Centre, expanding their strategic plan for the ongoing provision of primary care for patients in the wider Southland area, including the Mataura community and surrounding area.

There will be no change for patients and whānau or to the practice team – this includes previous owner Dr Elaine Munro, who will continue on as usual seeing patients and whānau.

Te Hau o Te Ora Partnered Primary Care Service, a partnership between Hokonui Rūnanga, Awarua Rūnaka and WellSouth Primary Health Network, is purchasing the practice to support the sustainability of primary healthcare services for patients in Mataura and to support the clinical team. The practice will continue to be known as Mataura Medical Centre and remain at the same location.

Te Hau o Te Ora continues with its plans to establish the primary care service in Invercargill, aimed at supporting unenrolled patients and whānau in the Invercargill area.

“Over recent years, the operational aspects of being both a practising clinician and practice owner have become significant, and in some aspects, detracting from my primary passion as a family health practitioner,” Dr Munro says. “This represents an opportunity for me to focus wholly on providing care to our community and the support that Te Hau o Te Ora brings to the team, enables us to do this.”

Terry Nicholas, Manager of Hokonui Rūnanga, says the arrangement supports the sustainability of vital general practice services in a rural locality.

“This is the only general practice in the Mataura and with Elaine and the team wanting to stay on, we knew that Te Hau o Te Ora could provide the business and administrative support and help the Mataura team to dedicate themselves to delivering healthcare services to their community.”

Te Runaka o Awarua Trustee Louise Fowler says: “This is an exciting opportunity for our Mataura whānau, who, with the ongoing support from Elaine and her team, will continue to be recipients of the excellent care they are used to receiving through this practice. It is a privilege to represent our Southern iwi in this venture with WellSouth and we look forward to the future growth of the service for iwi katoa.”

While Mataura Medical ownership transitions to Te Hau o Te Ora’s ownership, new enrolments will be current patients and residents new to Mataura. The priority is to ensure that Te Hau o Te Ora is able to offer the support needed by the team and fulfil the intent behind this transaction and establish our working relationships.

Te Hau o Te Ora Partnered Primary Care Service was established in 2021 to create a primary care service in Invercargill, supporting unenrolled patients and whānau to have access to general practice care.

Te Hau o Te Ora continues to recruit a General Practitioner and other healthcare staff. The process has been impacted by border closures and the overall pressure on the health system owing to the pandemic.