Hindi proverb- Naach Na Jaane , Aangan tedhaEnglish equivalent- A bad workman blames his tools

THE NUHSPAPER

JUNE 2012ISSUE 4 VOL 1

THE NEWTOWN UNION HEALTH SERVICE INFORMATION NEWS SHEET

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THe nuHS MidWiveS TeaM

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CoMinGS and GoinGSWelcome back to Tina Bennett, at Inner City Project, and Serena Moran, nurse at NUHS: we’ve been missing both of you. Women giv-ing birth over the next fi ve weeks may notice a new face, Keishana Coursey, is a student midwife on placement from Christchurch.

laST CHanCe For FluvaC

Midwives have worked within NUHS from day one. Their role expanded considerably following the law change in the late 80’s. This allowed midwives to take responsi-bility for the care of the woman and her baby through pregnancy, deliv-ery and following the birth. We have a long history of working alongside our Obstetric and Gp/ Nurse col-leagues to help safeguard these journeys. Midwives have always claimed it takes passion to practice and that still holds true. Teamwork for the midwives means working with the women and fami-lies, with our team at the clinic, with our team at the hospital and with each other. The midwifery team shares our professional knowledge with students and new graduates hoping that they will be the work-force in the future. We are able to help women with needs related to pregnancy, housing, diet, breast feeding, immunisation and family spacing. We also often spot fam-ily issues and can refer through to other team members. We enjoy seeing familiar faces in the wait-ing room and love seeing the little people growing strong and healthy. The women who use our service

are diverse in their backgrounds and needs. As midwives, we love this aspect and value the story each woman tells as she completes pregnancy and enters motherhood. We are well used to using interpret-ers and know that “baby coming” is the same in any language. We also understand that women from other birthing cultures fi nd they have to learn about the New Zealand birth-ing practice and we think we show them the best.

Our model of care has been re-searched, audited and presented at International conferences where it has been received with positive ac-claim. We consider ourselves a bit of a trademark!

The midwives team: Liberty Meltzer, Bronwen Eve, Karen Keefe, Mary-Clare Reilly, & Karen Labone

One of the founding staff of NUHS, Dr Don Matheson, returned to visit old friends and the service. During his short stay in Wellington, he gave support to the UCAN campaign during one of their meetings. Bringing his expertise from the World Health Organisation, AusAID, and as Professor of Health Policy at Massey University, Wellington, he is seen here critically reviewing the May edition of the NUHSpaper.

Brass Razoo entertain the Saturday morning community on the way to the vege market while UCAN (United Com-munity Action Newtown) collect signatures for the petition against the funding cuts.

Dr Andy O’Grady returns from a brief placement in the Swedish health system. Thanks to Victoria Scobie who fi lled in in his absence. When Dr Emma Watson takes her maternity leave later in June, Megan Higgins will be joining the team.

Free fl u vaccinations for those that qualify are available to June 30. Be in!

Board Talk WinTer Survival

Press Release from NUHS Policy Board, 6 June 2012

On Thursday 31st May the Policy Board of the primary health care ser-vice, Newtown Union Health Service (NUHS), met to discuss the pro-posed management plan to accom-modate a DHB funding reduction to frontline services of $274, 000.

The Board agreed to put on hold any decision until the community has been made aware of the front line services that are having to be ended as a result of the DHB funding cut. Prior to implementing the proposal, the Policy Board is calling an open public meeting to consult with ser-vice members and other interested community representatives.

The meeting is Tuesday 12 June, from 4pm till 6pm, and to be held in St Anne’s hall, accessed off Daniell St and Emmett St.

The DHB has indicated the 7.9% funding reduction to NUHS is re-quired to help the DHB save $20 mil-lion this year. It has been indicated that the DHB needs to save an ad-ditional $20 million over the next two years which is likely to have a further impact on primary health care. The impending funding cut is already impacting on the services at NUHS. One example is that staff leaving the service are not being replaced. This currently involves three positions.On the first of May NUHS increased many of the fees for services to this high priority community. Among these increases is a new charge for health care for children from the age

Short days, long nightsCold mornings, wet lunchtimesSniffles and colds

How can we keep ourselves Healthy past midwinter, and remember that Matariki marks the turn of the season towards spring and brighter days?

• Healthy sleeping!

Air your house during the day, warm it up over the evening, close curtains and blinds and stop the draughts to keep the heat in, and then snuggle down!

• Healthy exercise!

Although it sometimes seems it is always too wet, windy, or too cold to be outside, we all need to feel the air on our faces, the sunshine on our skin, and keep our muscles and joints

moving. On fine days, try walking the children to school, or walk an extra stop or two before catching the bus. Park the car two blocks away from the shops and walk there and back!

While the children play their week-end sport, leave the refs to it, and walk around the block. Afterwards head down to the seafront and chase the seagulls!

• Healthy eating!

Fresh fruit and vegetables contain the vitamins and minerals our bodies use to fight off winter illness. Head to the markets for cheap produce – Newtown School on Saturday morn-ings, Waitangi Park or Victoria Street on Sunday mornings.

Know how the kids will eat coleslaw from KFC? Try this:

Mix finely sliced cabbage, grated carrot and chopped celery with a dressing of half mayonnaise, half unsweetened yoghurt. And serve... cheap, easy, and full of those vital elements for winter survival.

And finally, • Healthy fun!

If you’re bored at home, in need of social contact and political activity, and want to be an active member of NUHS, then come along to the Com-munity Advisory Group meetings, on the second Tuesday of every month in the NUHS staffroom, at 4pm. Please let the service know and we can contact you closer to the time. Hot drinks provided!

of six. This is the first fee increase at the NUHS for over fifteen years. It is too early to identify if these increases will create barriers to accessing health care, however the service will evaluate this impact.

NUHS is aware that a commu-nity protest is being organised by the new community group UCAN, United Community Action Newtown, on Friday 8 June prior to the DHB board meeting. Some will be making oral submissions at this DHB board meeting supporting the continuation of funding to NUHS, focusing on the impact to the wider community health should services be removed, and a petition of hundreds of community signatures will be presented.

Newtown Union Health Service announces impact of funding cuts