Otago Uni signs agreement with health provider

Tuesday 3 July 2007

University of Otago signs agreement with Te Arawa health provider

The future of an initiative that sees Otago dental students travel to Rotorua each year to provide free care for members of the local Māori community is now secure.

The University of Otago and Tipu Ora Charitable Trust, a Māori health provider in the Te Arawa district, will sign a memorandum of agreement in Rotorua tomorrow regarding the programme.

Under the agreement, the two parties will also explore opportunities for further collaboration.

Since 2000, groups of final-year dental students have forgone a week of their semester break and paid their own airfares to provide dental treatment for low-income Te Arawa adults. This year’s group of eight are currently on placement with the Trust.

University and Trust representatives will sign the agreement at Tamatekapua Meeting House, Ohinemutu, at a special ceremony tomorrow morning.

Trust General Manager Raewyn Bourne welcomed the signing. “This agreement firmly anchors the Tipu Ora Oral Health programme and, more importantly, establishes a relationship between the Trust and the University. This is an important step which opens the door to explore developing further programmes and initiatives with Otago,” says Ms Bourne.

“It is a very timely development that fits completely with the Trust’s kaupapa and focus on providing wrap-around services for our clients across the health, education and social service areas,” she says.

The Trust board and staff are looking forward to the signing with great excitement, she says. “This marks an important milestone in the Trust’s development.”

University Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Health Sciences) Professor Don Roberton says the signing of the agreement reflects the University’s emphasis on research and clinical teaching aimed at improving health outcomes for Māori.

“This memorandum assures the University’s continuing contribution to the Trust’s oral health services,” says Professor Roberton.

Areas to be explored under the memorandum include possible further student placements with the Trust and a study award scheme for Te Arawa students, he says.

The agreement with Tipu Ora Charitable Trust follows the University’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with Ngati Porou Hauora, another North Island health provider, in 2004.

University Māori Affairs adviser Darryn Russell says the agreement forms part of Otago’s continuing efforts to both expand and enhance its relations with iwi throughout the country and support Māori development and the realisation of Māori aspirations.

“This is a good example of the kind of agreements the University is pursuing in this regard – it is strongly focused on encouraging both parties to work together to produce practical health and educational outcomes.”

Programme supervisor Associate Professor John Broughton says he is delighted that the arrangement is being formalised through the agreement. “This initiative has proved an amazing success with win-win results for both the students and the local community.

“As well as giving the students a great opportunity to use their clinical skills and knowledge in a Māori community-based setting, they also come away enriched by the whole experience,” says Associate Professor Broughton.

“The community really appreciates what the students are doing and shows this by hosting them at the Tunohopu Marae. The hospitality extended to the students is very special; it is something that they always remember,” he says.

The strong support of the Tipu Ora Trust, the School Dental Service, the School of Dentistry and the wider University and local health professionals has been key in making the programme possible, Associate Professor Broughton says.

Background information:

About the clinical attachment:

Each year, around 10 final-year dental students from the University of Otago take part in a clinical attachment with the Tipu Ora Charitable Trust, providing an average of 180 appointments during their five-day placement. They also act as dental assistants and receptionists.

They provide basic dental care for Te Waka o Te Arawa whanau who are not currently accessing dental care.

Where required, patients are referred to a local dentist for ongoing treatment.

Along with the facilities at the Trust’s Tunohopu Health Centre, a mobile clinic loaned by the School Dental Service is also used.

ENDS

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