Work to build Te Kaika’s wellbeing hub begins

South Dunedin integrated healthcare provider Te Kaika has taken the next step on its journey, but it is not straying far from its Caversham roots.

Construction work officially began yesterday on the organisation’s new wellbeing hub, which will be built just metres away from its current facility, elsewhere on the land which once housed College Street School.

"This probably started off 20 years ago and it has been through ups and downs and periods of consolidation," Otakou Health Ltd board member Matapura Ellison said.

"But the vision that was created for Te Kaika endures."

The wellbeing hub was designed by McCoy Wixon and is to be built by Naylor Love.

It is intended to be a 2500sq m two-storey building, with outpatient services, primary care and social agencies on the ground floor, alongside clinical spaces and private facilities for sensitive clients.

It is expected to be a healthcare hub and offer wrap-around healthcare and social services support for over 5000 Maori, Pasifika and low-income registered families.

Plans for the hub include offering mental health services, and outpatient clinics for a range of services, including paediatrics, rheumatology, endocrinology, cardiology and diabetes.

"It has been a long time coming, but because of Covid we were already in the process of moving to transformation and then the health reforms were announced, so we are really pleased that we are on this path," Otakou Health Ltd chairwoman Donna Matahaere-Atariki said.

"This is not something that governments usually do but they have blended in and that’s wonderful for us ... I am absolutely by Maori for Maori, but we need partners, and we need the Government to lean in to what we want to do."

Ministry of Social Development chief executive Debbie Power said the organisation had worked with Te Kaika for some time and was committed to its its vision of a wellbeing hub.

"We are excited about being part of that and this certainly takes us to the next level," she said.

"Being part of the hub means we can connect better with other services and improve life for whanau, and that’s absolutely fantastic."

Te Kaika expects its co-located facility will enable multidisciplinary teams to work together to provide holistic care for entire families: as well as delivering healthcare, other staff on site could help with things such as benefit applications, budgeting advice or accessing entitlements.

"We think that when we have people working together that it will make a huge difference to whanau engagement," Ms Matahaere-Atariki said.

"We are trying to be in the community with people rather than just having people come and see us."

mike.houlahan@odt.co.nz