COMMUNICATIONS

New Resources Launched To Help Parents Choose Well Child/Tamariki Ora Provider

Two new resources have been produced to assist parents to register with the organisations that provide free health checks for newborns to five year olds and to help them decide which one is best for them and their child.

Well Child/Tamariki Ora is a free service for children up to five years old and their parents. Its aim is to provide parents with information and support about their child’s health and development, to offer information about immunisation and free hearing and vision checks.

In Canterbury, there are five providers – Te Puawaitanga Ki Ōtautahi Trust, Pacific Trust Canterbury, Canterbury Plunket, Canterbury District Health Board’s Public Nursing Service and Te Tai O Marokura, based in Kaikoura.

A new brochure, produced by the five Canterbury Well Child/Tamariki Ora providers in collaboration with Canterbury District Health Board’s Community and Public Health division, provides information about each of them, outlines what parents can expect at a free health visit, which can take place in their homes or in clinics, and when the visits are likely to occur.

The second resource is a one-page referral form, which midwives/lead maternity carers will use to refer women to the Well Child/Tamariki Ora provider of their choice before their baby is four weeks old. The referral form includes information about the baby, such as their birth weight, gestation, siblings and position in the family. It also includes information about the baby’s mother, such as her ethnicity, contact details and her GP’s details.

Ann Vanschevensteen, Health Promoter with Community and Public Health, says the brochures have been designed to make it easier for parents to decide which Well Child/Tamariki Ora provider they want to be referred to. “We hope this will help parents to become more aware of the options available to them and will give them a smooth transition from their midwives/lead maternity carers to the Well Child/Tamariki Ora provider that suits them and their baby best.”

ENDS