Te Waipounamu Workforce Development Hub – Introduction and Early Priority
Kia ora,
We’re pleased to share that Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora has funded the establishment of a Te Waipounamu Workforce Development Hub. Pegasus Health and WellSouth have been contracted to jointly establish and implement the Hub, on behalf of PHOs, primary care providers, and partners across the region.
The Workforce Development Hub is one of four regional hubs nationally, designed to strengthen capability and support a more sustainable primary and community care workforce. This includes identifying regional workforce needs, coordinating training and development opportunities, and improving visibility and access to available funding. The Hub will work alongside existing initiatives, including rural training hubs and other workforce programmes.
Work is now underway to set up the operational structures to support the Te Waipounamu Hub. Over the coming month, we will be seeking expressions of interest for a Regional Steering Group to help provide strategic direction and ensure strong clinical input from across the region.
We look forward to working closely with PHOs, providers, and partners as the Hub develops, and to sharing further updates as this progresses.
Early priority: Planned Care Training Funding
An early priority for the Workforce Hub is supporting the rollout of the Planned Care Training Funding initiative.
This funding will enable GPs to undertake training to deliver a broader range of planned care services in the community including skin lesions, abnormal uterine bleeding and pelvic prolapse services. Funding can be used for:
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Course fees
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Backfill or locum cover
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Travel and accommodation (where required)
Further information on the Te Waipounamu funding and application process will be shared in the coming weeks, including details of the application and distribution process.
We invite you to share this with your practice networks.
Further information on the Regional Workforce Development and Planned Care Training is available on the Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora website here.
If you have any questions, please contact Linda Wensley and Lee Flockton (Co-Leads for the Te Waipounamu Workforce Development Hub) via email: TWPworkforcehub@pegasus.health.nz or workforce@wellsouth.org.nz
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