The Whanganui District Health Board provides a number of Maori health services, these include:

Kuia and Kaumatua: These key positions are established both in the Whanganui District Health Board funding and planning and the Provider Division via Maori Mental Health Services, Te Hunga Piki Te Ora.

Maori Health Advisor: This position provides the strategic overview, policy development, relationships management with Iwi hapu and whanau, advice to the Chief Executive Officer executive management team and when required to the Chair of the Board through the Chief Executive Officer. This position also provides support to the cultural training program and provides the introduction overview of Maori health services to the District Health Board’s orientation programme. This position is also responsible for the Maori provider health contracts management through funding and planning.

Coordinator Maori Health: This role works principally within the Whanganui District Health Board’s provider division, Good Health Wanganui, as part of the senior management team. The role is responsible to provide advice to the General Manager, Public Hospital and Health Services and the senior management team in its Treaty of Waitangi obligations, tikanga Maori and on ways of progressing implementation of strategies to ensure mainstream service responsiveness to Maori. Additionally this position assists in the development of cultural training, and policy regarding Maori health.

Maori Staff Support Forums:

Te Roopu Hauora Maori: provides input into the developments of Maori health within the provider division. Membership is made up of The Co-ordinator Maori Health, the Maori Mental Health Manager, the Kuia and Kaumatua for Mental Health and the Maori Liaison Officer.

Te Roopu Tautoko Maori: the primary function of this group is to support Maori staff within the provider division and to provide guidance relevant to patient care. Membership is made up of Maori nurses, community workers and administrators within hospital services.

Maori Mental Health Services:

Te Hunga Piki-Te-Ora (Maori Mental Health): This service provides a Maori Mental Health response in the provider division and is integrated throughout the mainstream mental health service continuum. There are Te Whanau Hauora (Maori Health Workers) in all the services. This service also plans and delivers the Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi and Maori Cultural Training Programme in conjunction with the Co-ordinator Maori Health to Whanganui District Health Board employees.

Hospital Liaison Services:

Maori Liaison Officer: This position is a key linkage between community Maori health providers and hospital services. The service is provided in conjunction with Te Oranganui Iwi Health Authority to support Maori patients and their whanau when accessing health services from the provider division and assists in linking the patient to a Maori health provider on discharge.

Te Whare Mauri Ora: Is emergency accommodation provided to those whanau/families who live outside of the city limits, and who have a whanau/family member in the hospital. Access to this service is through the Maori Liaison Officer. Whanau may stay up to seven days.

Te Whare Whakatau Mate: Is temporary short stay accommodation provided for whanau/families suddenly experience the loss of a whanau member. The accommodation is provided until family are able to move their whanau member to begin the final resting place processes.

Other available services:

Iwi Provider Discharge/Referral Form: This form is provided to assist hospital staff for those patients who affiliate with a Maori Health provider. It is used to strengthen discharge and admission processes.

Maori Cultural Training: Is provided to all Whanganui District Health Board staff and involves a two day programme which includes the history of Treaty of Waitangi and cultural safety training for staff.

Maori Community Health Providers
The District Health Board funds, through Taumata Hauora Trust (Maori Development Organisation/Primary Health Organisation), five Maori health providers from Waimarino and Taihape in the north to Marton and Wanganui in the south. Contracts include Whanau Ora (family health) Tamariki Ora (child health), a general practitioner service, regional asthma service, mobile disease state nursing, maternity and pregnancy services, sexual and reproductive health, rangatahi/youth health services, mental health, disability support services , to name a few.