Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand is praising
Taranaki’s B4 School health check programme for children
after its significant performance
turnaround.
Coordinated by Te Whatu Ora in Taranaki,
Tui Ora, the Public Health Nurse team and Ngāti Ruanui, the
B4 School Check (B4SC) is a free health and development
check for four to five -year-old tamariki. It is the last Well
Child check to make sure pre-school-aged children are
healthy and can learn well at school.
Senior Advisor
for Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand’s Child and
Community Health programme, Meenakshi Panda, congratulated
the team for their “hard work, dedication, and resilience in
completing and exceeding the B4SC target.”
“At the end
of the last financial year, Taranaki was behind by 170
checks,” says Panda. “However, you are ahead with 60 checks,
(in the report) ending October 2022. This is a vast
improvement that needs to be recognized and celebrated. B4SC
is meeting the target at the national level after a long
time.”
“I’d like heartily thank the staff working
tireless hours on the frontline to make this happen. We
appreciate their can-do and working out-of-the-box attitude
and value the mahi you do.
Undertaken by a registered
nurse, the check covers such health aspects as hearing and
vision, oral health and immunisation, says Taranaki B4
School Coordinator, Belinda Miller.
“Unfortunately,
due to COVID-19, there was no B4SC Clinics in Taranaki for a
two-month period,” says Miller.
“Nursing Staff were
diverted to COVID-19 roles in the hospital and community
setting. This had a negative impact on reaching our
targets.”
“Once clinics could recommence, the team
have gone above and beyond to run additional clinics and
ensure all clinics are full to capacity each
week.”
“Tui Ora and Ngati Ruanui are vital services in
our community. Their focus is to prioritise vulnerable
members of our population including Maori, Pacific and new
migrant children.
“Picking up vison or hearing
concerns before a child starts school can make such a
massive impact on a child’s learning and behaviour,”
explains Miller. “It is all about ensuring our tamariki in
Taranaki have the best start.”
In another advancement,
this year the programme has brought in junior doctors on a
three-month rotation. The doctors have been providing checks
alongside the nursing team and gain important experience
about child health needs.
“This has been highly
successful and well received from whānau. This is unique to
Taranaki and we are very pleased to have them as part of our
team.”
B4 School check clinics are run by Tui Ora and
Ngati Ruanui in the whanau home and sometimes in their
clinical space. The Public Health Nursing Team complete the
checks in Te Whatu Ora clinics all around the mountain.
Checks can be booked in by phoning 027 241 5190 or emailing
B4Schools.Forms@tdhb.org.nz
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