I’m a graduate of the Whitireia bachelor of nursing Maori programme, and I work 20 hours a week at Work and Income (WINZ) in Poirirua. I’m one of only four nurses that work out of WINZ offices in the country, and we all work in areas where clients need to be re-engaged with primary care, and to reduce high inequality.

WINZ refers people to me, or sometimes I see they’re unwell when they come in. It’s all about engaging with people, and giving them the confidence to share their health concerns. It’s no good making an appointment to see them the next day – I would lose them. I make an on-the-spot assessment of their needs and then triage them to the appropriate services. I follow up with them and the provider to make sure both their health and social needs are addressed.

In Poirura, basically, people don’t go to the doctor because they can’t afford to. They wait until it gets bad enough for the emergency department. I deliver with a range of preventative health interventions, but also work with families to build trust in health service, and with their schools, kindergartens or kohanga reo, and local charities. This is all part of the whanau ora approach to improving people’s health.

Sometimes I’m able to provide books and toys, and once I even found a young boy a bike on his birthday, that would have been way out of his family’s reach.

I believe most W&I offices could really benefit from having a nursing role like this.  Social and health organisations must work collaboratively to improve people’s health outcomes and reduce levels of social deprivation.

Pictured- Lizzy Kepa-Henry, centre, with colleagues at a WINZ stall

Interview first published in Kai Tiaki Nursing New Zealand, March 2015