Marae health centre stepped in to provide care during Delta

A community health clinic in Auckland says during last year's Delta outbreak, it became the default provider of medical and welfare care for self-isolating patients, because the Ministry of Health was failing to provide adequate care. Papakura Marae Health Centre serves a community of more than 3,200 people, with at least 95 percent identifying as Maori or Pasifika. When the government moved to a mixed MIQ and Community Supported Isolation and Quarantine (CIQ) model, the Ministry of Health contracted Whakarongorau Aotearoa to carry out a remote check-in service for patients. However the Papakura Marae Health Centre soon observed issues with the service, including reports of whanau isolating in unsafe homes and a failure to consistently perform timely check-ins and reviews. The Papakura Marae Health Centre decided to step in and take over the role of the Ministry of Health's system. Kathryn Dr Matire Harwood is a GP at the Papakura Marae Health Centre. She is also Associate Professor at the University of Auckland and senior researcher at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand.