Auckland City Mission Calder Health Centre nurse Anna in April 2020. Photo / Facebook
Whānau visiting Auckland City Mission's health centre will now have access to an online GP service.
A new collaboration with ProCare and Southern Cross Health Insurance means the health centre can now triage cases onsite.
Alongside the centre's nursing team, CareHQ's online GPs remotely engage with patients to deliver a "whānau-centric approach", ProCare said Thursday.
Many of the centre's clients face complex issues such as homelessness, mental health concerns and substance abuse disorders.
The mission's health and social services general manager, Jacqui Dillon, says having easy access to healthcare is imperative.
“Over the past few years, as with the rest of the country’s primary care sector, we’ve seen changing demand for our services with the impact of Covid-19.
“Having CareHQ alongside our team has allowed us to stretch our limited resources so our patients can have equitable access to care they need within a reasonable timeframe.”
The online GP service at the mission's health centre has already provided assistance to a number of patients, including:
"[H]elping a patient access ACC-funded rehabilitation after a domestic violence injury, guiding a young mother to accessible dental care, and helping a patient get a refill of regular medications that allowed her to travel to visit her mother in palliative care," the statement said.
Auckland City Mission's Calder Health Centre CareHQ clinic runs weekly on a Thursday.
Launched in late February, the clinic has helped more than 80 patients access healthcare.