Services/Programmes include:

Kai Club	Valley Mums Support Group	Regional Diabetes Support Groups
Health Promotion	PHO Performance Programme	Primary Mental Health Service
Community Dietitian Service	Outreach Nurses	Care Plus
Community Health Service	Cardiovascular Risk Programme	Cervical Screening Programme
Healthy Families Coach	Pharmacy Services

 

Valley Health Support Group

 

The Valley PHO Health Support Group meets on a monthly basis through the year. It aims to educate and support patients to best manage their diabetes and other health conditions using a culturally appropriate group setting

Candice
(04 576-8603)

Kai Club

 

Kai Club is a hands on practical cooking programme for people wanting to gain new skills in preparing health meals and weight management.

The group aims to show people how to cook favorite dishes and snacks in a healthy way with an emphasis on creating meals on a tight budget.

For more information contact:

Tanya
(04 576 8602)
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Valley Mums Support Group

Valley Mums Support Group meets on the Third Tuesday of every month.

Where:         Great Start House, 5 Cooper Street, Taita

What Time:  10:30 - 12:30 pm

All Welcome!

For more information contact:

Candice
(04 576 8603)

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Regional Diabetes Support Groups - Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt

Three diabetes support groups meet regularly in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt at each area's community house.

Activities include: guest speakers on diet, podiatry, pharmacy, and retinal screening.

Come along and connect with other people, learn more about diabetes and take part in some gentle exercise.

For more information please contact:

Tanya
(04 576 8602)
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Valley Fit Exercise Sessions

Hutt Valley community members who want a bit of a hand to get active are welcome to come and join the Valley Fit exercise group in Naenae.

Sessions are circuit based that allow people to work out at their own level with extra encouragement from Healthy Family Coach Sarah Milne.

The friendly and supportive group meet every Tuesday and Thursday morning at Naenae Leisure Active gym.

There is no cost to join or to attend this group.

For more information or to join the group, please phone Sarah 576 8601

 

Health Promotion

The Valley Health Promotion team works alongside practices and with the wider Hutt Valley community to raise awareness about health issues and to encourage healthy lifestyles.

The team includes a community dietitian and a healthy families coach (see above) and two general health promoters.

Ongoing programmes provided by the team include:

• Māori and Pacific health support groups More...
• Mums group More...
• Healthy cooking Kai Club more...

The team also works on a number of events and promotions throughout the year.

To see whats coming up visit News and Events

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PHO Performance Programme

The PHO Performance Programme (PPP) is a national quality improvement programme for Primary Health Organisations (PHO's). It has been developed by District Health Boards (DHBs), the Ministry of Health and the primary health care sector to support improvements in the health of people enrolled in a PHO. The Programme aims to:

• Encourage and reward improved performance by PHOs in line with evidence-based guidelines
• Measure and reward progress in reducing health inequalities by including a focus on high need Poulations such as Māori, Pacific People or those on low incomes.

The Programme has developed a number of performance indicators to measure PHO achievements over a 6 month period.

The below report has been developed to show progress for Valley PHO with the programme. Reports will be published 6 monthly via this website.

110628 PHO PUBLIC REPORTING TO 31 DEC 10 final.doc

Primary Mental Health Service (Wellbeing Service)

The aim of the Wellbeing Service is to improve mental health outcomes for people with mild to moderate mental illnesses. The team comprised of a number of experienced mental health clinicians with a wide range of skills and background including Clinical Psychologists and Mental Health Nurses.

The Wellbeing Service is for people with mild to moderate mental health problems who are over the age of 13yrs. Referrals can be made through your General Practice, Health or social service or people can self refer.
The service offers a wide range of short term interventions for people. These interventions may be provided by members of the Wellbeing Service, other private practitioners or family doctors and can include but are not limited to:

• Mental Health Assessment
• Counselling
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Education on mental health issues
• Strategies for management of symptoms
• Problem solving
• Liaison with and/or referral to other agencies
• Care planning
• Providing information about community resources, other mental health services and internet resources

For a referral to this service please contact your GP

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Community Dietitian Service

Valley PHO Community Dietitian service aims to improve patient’s dietary choices and lifestyle habits through dietary education and advice via individual consultations and group education sessions. The service works in collaboration with the Valley PHO multi-disciplinary team and general practice teams.

This service is provided free of charge to eligible patients who are enrolled with a Valley PHO practice; Māori or Pacific peoples or low income; have a chronic disease or at risk of developing a chronic disease. Priority will be given to patients taking part in the Care Plus programme or who have had a Cardiovascular Risk Assessment.

Referral and Access:

GP’s, Practice Nurses, Outreach Nurses, Community Health Workers, secondary care or other health practitioners can refer to the service by fax, post or MedTech outbox or by contacting the Community Dietitian at Valley PHO.

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Outreach Nurses

The Outreach Nursing Service of Valley PHO works alongside practices to provide assistance to eligible patients with high health needs, who may experience barriers to accessing primary health care.

The team comprises of four registered nurses, who work in the community, visiting patient’s homes, workplaces or other venues convenient for the patient.

The nurses offer a holistic service which not only includes health but other issues which can impact on the patient’s general wellbeing. Support can be given for health education, management of conditions and advocacy with other agencies.
The nurses not only work with the patient but with family and Whanau to achieve agreed outcomes.

Referral to the Service

Referrals come by way of GP’s, Practice Nurses, secondary care and other health providers, self referrals, government agencies and social service organizations, and can be made by fax, post, MedTech or Healthlink, or by contacting the Outreach Nurse Team Leader at Valley PHO.

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Care Plus

Care Plus is a funded well-health programme targeting people with high health needs due to chronic health conditions. The intent of the Care Plus programme is for primary care clinicians to work with the patient with these conditions and to provide education and support to develop ways in which to keep them as well as possible.

The Criteria to be enrolled on this programme is:

Have two or more chronic health conditions,
Has a terminal illness (defined as someone who has advanced, progressive disease whose death is likely within 12 months); OR
has had two acute medical or mental health-related admissions in the past 12 months (excluding surgical admissions); OR
Has had six first-level service or similar primary health care visits in the past 12 months (including emergency department visits); OR
is on active review for elective services.

The programme is wellness focused and the overall aims of the programme for the patient: are;

to increase their understanding of their medical conditions and medications,
know how to stay well and
to become self managing of their health condition.

For a referral to this service please contact your GP or Practice Nurse

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Community Health Service

What our Service Offers:

Valley PHO Community Health Service offers visits for all enrolled patients who are Māori, Pacific or low income to assist them to overcome barriers to primary health care services. The Service is non acute, culturally appropriate, and entails assessing and addressing current social problems and difficulties through agreed Care Plans; providing advocacy and referrals to government agencies, appropriate health providers, community groups and organisations; involving members of whanau/aiga or friends to assist with support; and linking to other Valley PHO services to take care of other needs that are impacting on health.

The Community Health Service Team

The Team consists of Community Health Workers and a Team Leader who have strong backgrounds working alongside our communities and general practices.

Referrals to the Service

Referrals come by way of GP’s, Practice Nurses, secondary care and other health providers, self referrals, government agencies and social service organisations, and can be made by fax, post, MedTech or Healthlink, or by contacting the Community Health Team Leader at Valley PHO.

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Cardiovascular Risk (CVR) Programme

Aim

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in New Zealand, accounting for 40% of all deaths. It has been proven that effective identification and management of cardiovascular risk can reduce the rate of cardiovascular disease.

The aim of the Valley PHO Cardiovascular Risk (CVR) Programme is to increase the rates of cardiovascular screening and management for all patients in the “at risk” age group. The programme is targeted at improving access to cardiovascular screening and management services

Service Description

The Valley PHO CVR programme has four main functions:
1. To promote awareness of cardiovascular risk and cardiovascular risk factors;
2. To increase the rate of cardiovascular risk assessment amongst the “at risk” population;
3. To provide education and support to people at risk of cardiovascular disease;
4. To facilitate free access to cardiovascular risk assessment and education for those most at risk.

The New Zealand Cardiovascular Guidelines recommend that all men aged 45 ≥ yrs and all women 55≥ yrs have a cardiovascular risk assessment at least once every five years. The recommended age for assessment is lowered by ten years for people with known risk factors or for people of Maori, Pacific, or Indian ethnicity.

Valley PHO funds free CVR assessments for some patients and recommends that everyone in the age range above arrange an appointment for a CVR assessment with their GP or practice nurse.

If you would like to know if you are eligible for a free CVR assessment please contact your practice.

The Heart Foundation has developed a 'Heart Forecasting' tool to help identify individual current and long term cardiovascular risk. There are two links to the Heart Forecasting tool - one for health professionals and one for patients. The Heart Forecasting tool should be used alongside professional clinical advice on cardiovascular risk. 

http://www.yourheartforecast.org.nz/ (for health professionals)

http://www.knowyournumbers.org.nz/ (for patients)

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Cervical Screening Programme

If a woman is aged between 20 and 70 and has ever been sexually active, having a smear test every three years could save her life! Having regular cervical smears can reduce chances of developing cervical cancer by 90 percent. Cervical cancer is caused by a very common virus called HPV-a virus that most women will have at some stage. Women can develop HPV without knowing it, even if they are no longer sexually active - and regardless of age. HPV usually has no symptoms, so the only way to know you are affected is to have regular smear tests every three years. In that way cell changes that are picked up during a smear can be monitored and treated before cancer develops.

The Valley PHO Cervical Screening Programme aims to increase the rates of cervical screening in the ‘high needs’ (Māori, Pacific, Quintile 5) population by removing the cost barrier; promoting women’s health in the target population; encouraging practices to focus on women’s health and increasing the workforce able to provide cervical screening. Funding and support is available to Valley PHO practices providing cervical smears to ‘high needs’ women (via a voucher system).

Please call your Practice to make an appointment and ask if you are eligible for this funding!

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Healthy Families Coach

The aim of the Valley PHO Healthy Families Coach is to work with patients and their families to improve levels of physical activity. This  service is provided free of charge to eligible patients as individual consultations or group whanau sessions.

The Healthy Families Coach provides a free confidential service which:

• Addresses patients needs through agreed Healthy Lifestyle Plans which primarily focus on improving levels of physical activity
• Includes patients families where possible in plans
• Works alongside general practice and the Valley PHO Dietitian to identify and manage patients who require assistance with developing Healthy Lifestyles
• Links patients to the Valley PHO Cardiovascular Risk Assessment programme, CarePlus and other appropriate programmes

Referral and Access:

GP’s, Practice Nurses, Outreach Nurses, Community Health Workers, secondary care or other health practitioners can refer to the service by fax, post or MedTech outbox or by contacting the Healthy Families Coach at Valley PHO.

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Pharmacy Services

The Kōwhai Health Trust Clinical Pharmacy team provide services to Valley PHO, and in some instances to all Hutt Valley PHOs, that encourage the appropriate use of medication through best practice.

Services

• Medication Information
  A core function of the Clinical Pharmacy team is to provide medication information to the clinical staff of Valley PHO. This may be a simple enquiry regarding the availability of a medication, to a complex scenario that evaluates a patient’s medication regimen.
• Compliance Packaging
  The Clinical Pharmacy team administers a DHB funded service to provide unit dose packaging for up to 400 patients from across the Hutt Valley. Patients who meet certain criteria are referred to the service by either their GP or Community Pharmacy. For further information see Compliance Packaging Programme 
• Warfarin
  The Clinical Pharmacy team administers a Warfarin monitoring service for the Hutt Valley that provides both management and resources for GP Practices.
  • Through a collaboration between Aotea Laboratories and Kōwhai Health Trust, GP Practices are regularly provided with a list of patients overdue for blood tests that are required as part of Warfarin therapy.
  • The Clinical Pharmacy team has developed and delivers a Warfarin education module for Practice Nurses that ensures patients are provided with information that will help them to safely manage the many challenges provided by Warfarin therapy.
  • GP Practices are also provided with resources which provided information on dosing and resolving commonly encountered clinical problems.
  • Patients who are initiated on Warfarin in secondary care are provided with a voucher entitling them to a funded GP visit and an education session.
• Valley PHO Peer Review
  The Clinical Pharmacy team contributes to Valley PHO GP Peer Review meetings. The Pharmacy team contributes topics of interest and responds to GP suggestions for medication related topical information.
• Pharmacy Bulletin
  The bulletin is produced every three months and provided to all Valley PHO clinical staff. The purpose of the bulletin is to provide evidence-based information on medication related issues of interest and how that may change current practice. They will usually discuss changes to best practice or evidence relating to the use of a particular medication.
• Rx Tips
  Rx Tips are information sheets produced to support the medication aspect of GP and Practice Nurse CME sessions. They summarise key medication related information in the form of Practice tips to reinforce best practice in Primary Care.
• GP Audits
  Each year the Clinical Pharmacy team develops a MOPs accredited GP audit. The audit will usually focus on an aspect of Practice where prescribing data suggests that Valley PHO GPs may be at variance to their peers either in the DHB or nationally. Recent audits available to all Valley PHO GPs have included:
  • Vitamin D use in osteoporosis
  • Appropriate monitoring of Proton Pump Inhibitors
  • Promotion of the increased use of nortriptyline in preference to amitriptyline when used for neuropathic pain

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