A common thread to conversations with Waikato practices was the training they are currently doing with medical students from Auckland University on their RMIP programme, nursing students and recently graduated doctors on placements from the RNZCGP. Similarly, there was increasing excitement about the possibility of this work expanding to more longitudinal medical student training, over multiple years, when Waikato’s new graduate school of medicine opens. Coordinating all of these placements, ensuring appropriate funding for them, and then ensuring that those on placement in rural areas have an incredibly welcoming and rewarding experience, such that they will choose to live and work rurally, is the challenge ahead of us to make sure the opportunity is fully realised.

To this end, our Rural Communities Chapter has identified that their number one priority over the next year is to develop a community-focused programme to welcome both students and international doctors/nurses/allied health professionals into rural areas. The working title for this project is The Golden Key: Te Korowai o te Hapori / The cloak of the community. The project will pilot harnessing community groups and their manaakitanga to make the new arrivals into several chosen areas really positive experiences. The aim is to make those students and health workers feel welcome, embraced and valued – involved in lots of local activities – rather than alone and isolated. Lessons learned from the pilot areas will be used to scale the initiative nationally.

This is only one example of exciting initiatives that are set to take off next year. The Ministry of Health and Minister Doocey’s office have just released the “Rural Health Roadshow Insights Report”, which summarises the key messages that the 13 rural communities that were visited wanted the Minister to hear. Although there is nothing surprising to us in this summary, the good thing is that the themes are captured in a Ministry document, all linked to the Rural Health Strategy, and will have actions to move them forward in 2026. Our job will be to ensure the actions decided upon and enacted are meaningful and adequately funded!

You will see in the newsletter content below, Marie has summed up just some of the major advocacy initiatives that have been actioned over the last few months, and Luke has highlighted our rural locum and recruitment efforts for rural general practice and rural hospitals.  I think the team have done an exceptional job for such a small group of people!

What I want to highlight, after five years of constant badgering Ministry officials, is that we are now starting to see key health data and outcomes reported by rurality (GCH).  This has been done most comprehensively in the Health NZ immunisation Coverage report (Immunisation coverage – Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora) where immunisation figures for rurality are listed in the same way as they are for ethnicity and deprivation for the first time.  Unfortunately, this data still shows that rural has the lowest immunisation rates in the country, steadily worsening the further whānau are from bigger population centres. What we can celebrate however, is that these figures are now public. If they are visible, then we can campaign for resourcing to get them to improve. Our hope is that similar analyses will soon be available to all major health datasets and health targets. We know we will have achieved our goal when the two-page adverts in The Post (as seen today), tell us how rural populations are faring against the health targets comparing to our urban friends.

So, let’s celebrate a great year behind us and some real opportunities that lie ahead.  We have to ensure that the proposed Rural Training Hubs achieve the sector’s vision for developing and retaining rural career talent; we need to see the funding for general practice provide appropriate loadings for practices that are delivering in rural locations (Has your practice nominated HTRHN to be your nominee at PSAAP negotiations – this is important!); we need to make sure our community-owned rural hospitals get a sustainable funding uplift, and we need to embed stronger support, funding and infrastructure through the implementation of the Rural Urgent Unplanned Care rollout.  All of Minister Doocey’s actions to respond to the Rural Roadshow Insights must be scrutinised and held to account.

Rural WONCA in April will be a global stage for us to highlight the importance of health for rural communities, and give all parties the opportunity to state how they will help to progress that imperative if they are able to form a new Government at the end of the year. We will be pushing equity, generalism, evidence-based data and rural-appropriate tech that adds to rather than takes away from people-centric care.

Thanks for your support in helping Hauora Taiwhenua make a difference this year. Thanks to community members, rural health workers of all persuasions, our own members, and those who have gifted their time as Chapter Chairs, Council Representatives, Te Rōpū Ārahi members, Board members and staff. We are making a difference!

Make sure you do make time for yourself and to connect with others over the Christmas and New Year period. Even on Air NZ planes, we are reminded to put the oxygen masks on ourselves before we try to help children and others. Make sure you take this philosophy to your work and family lives by prioritising a break in your stressful work for others.

Meri Kirihimete

Grant