Te Waharoa, a Covid gateway for BOP patients: BOP iwi, police and government groups create Covid support network

Friday, 24 December 2021

Te Waharoa will contact all Covid cases in the Bay of Plenty within 24 hours, to offer support.

A Covid “health and welfare safety net” called Te Waharoa has been created by various Bay of Plenty groups.

The roopu (group) will ensure the Bay of Plenty can get through Covid, contacting all positive cases within 24 hours and providing support if and when people need to isolate to protect their wider family and community.

All 12 Bay of Plenty iwi, along with community organisations, Police, local and central government, and agencies including Oranga Tamariki have come together under the Te Waharoa umbrella to offer collective Covid-19 support, a statement said.

“As a forum, we have been working on bringing together our different, and sometimes fragmented, priorities for a united purpose – Covid impacted whānau and communities,” said Bay of Plenty Mataatua chair Kirsti Luke.

The threat of serious illness or death due to Covid-19 varies across the population. But for nearly everyone, the risk of vaccination is much smaller than the risk posed by an infection, even among groups that do well against Covid-19.

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“That has meant working differently for every one of us.”

As Aotearoa moved from Covid elimination to minimisation, 16 regional leadership groups were established or strengthened to coordinate the required response.

The coming together of often fragmented groups was for the purpose of helping Covid-impacted whānau and communities, Bay of Plenty Mataatua chair Kirsti Luke said.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council boss Fiona McTavish described the Bay of Plenty roopu as “a health and welfare safety net to ensure no-one falls through the gaps”.

Waiariki Public Service Commissioner Ezra Schuster complimented the combination of iwi reach and know-how, with government agencies who are equally passionate, but with completely different areas of expertise.

“Covid has only served to reinforce the ability of iwi to reach across extremely diverse environments, from urban settings to coastal territories, and through to deeply forested landscapes.

“If we are to support our communities through Covid, it is imperative that we acknowledge and harness this ability, and combine it with local and central government expertise to achieve the best possible outcomes for this region,” he said.

Together with Waiariki Regional Leadership Group (RLG) co-chair, Police District Commander Andy McGregor, both underlined the sentiment that this hard-fought collaboration is good for the region – both now and beyond Covid.

Te Waharoa reflects the gateway through which everyone living in the Bay of Plenty rohe will travel if they contract Covid-19, Bay of Plenty Regional Council CEO and Waiariki RLG member, Fiona McTavish said.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief executive Pete Chandler has also been involved in establishing the support system.

“It offers a health and welfare safety net to ensure no-one falls through the gaps and it means people in our community will know what will happen, and when, if someone tests positive for Covid. Together, we will help them get through.”

Bringing two key aspects of the Covid response, Ministry of Social Development Regional Commissioner, Mike Bryant and Bay of Plenty DHB chief executive Pete Chandler have contributed to the building of Te Waharoa.

Supported by the wider BOP Mataatua RLG, which includes Whakatāne, Ōpōtiki, Kawerau, Western Bay and Tauranga City and District Councils, their respective teams have built a truly collaborative approach to Covid health and welfare responses.

“The proof of this collaboration is in the opening of our Te Waharoa pathway, a uniquely Western and Eastern Bay of Plenty framework that is currently responding to all Covid positive cases throughout the region from Ōpōtiki to Te Waimana, to Kawerau, Murupara and Tauranga city,” said Waiariki Public Service Commissioner Ezra Schuster.

Bay of Plenty Mataatua chair Kirsti Luke said iwi continue to do the fair share of the heavy lifting when it comes to Covid, moving from applicants to architects of the support framework.

“Once someone tests positive for Covid-19, they will be contacted by Te Waharoa within 24 hours to discuss health, accommodation, wellbeing and safety requirements. Joint decisions can then be made about self-isolation, along with their ongoing care.”

Contact will be maintained with the person through their Covid journey and until they are cleared.

“By now, whānau should have a Covid readiness plan in place for their whare. Have you thought about places where you could isolate, and whose arm you might need to twist to do your shopping for you? Planning ahead is particularly important if there are medical needs,” said Luke.

“We need people to study up on isolation and what is required. There’s a bit to it, including knowing when your isolation clock starts and ends. People could get caught out by how long they may end up isolating if someone else in their whare tests positive.

“Isolating will truly save lives, especially for our medically vulnerable whānau. Managing your isolation clock will get you back to mahi faster.

“If you haven’t given this any thought yet, don’t stress, there is still time. And we’ve put our collective minds to use to help you build your home Covid readiness plan.”

People can go to www.tewaharoa.co.nz for the latest information about Covid-19, the local response, vaccination and the different support services available. There is also a localised information pack with checklists and more details about what happens if someone tests positive.