About Primary Health Organisations (PHOs)

Primary Health Organisations (PHOs) are teams of health professionals (GPs, Nurses, Pharmacists etc) working with local communities to deliver health services to meet the needs of their enrolled populations. The aim of PHOs is to ensure

• a greater emphasis on population health, health promotion and preventative care
• community involvement
• involvement of a range of health professionals, with multidisciplinary approaches to decision making
• improvements in accessibility, affordability and appropriateness of services
• improvements in co-ordination and continuity of care
• the provision and funding of services according to the population's needs

PHOs aim to make primary (non-hospital) health care

• more affordable
• more accessible
• better suited to the needs of enrolled members and their family or whanau.

As well as providing treatment services, PHOs aim to help people to stay well and to give communities more say in the types of services that are provided. People enrolled in PHOs are eligible for lower cost visits to the doctor and lower standard prescription charges.

Benefits of enrolling in a PHO

• you will be eligible for reduced family doctor costs, free doctor visits for children under five, and reduced prescription charges
• you will have better information about managing your lifestyle to prevent disease
• if necessary, you will have access to special health services to help you better manage chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease
• your primary provider will get to know you and your specific health issues, and can work with other health services to make sure that you and your family or whanau have access to the best possible health care

About the Northland Mental Health Project - te pou ora o te piringatahi: The six Northland PHO’s were successful in securing funding for a regional primary mental health care strategy that has the following broad objectives:

• To improve the identification, treatment and support for people with mental health and addiction issues in the primary care setting.
• To provide better follow up and co-ordination for people with mental health and addiction issues in Nortland.
• To promote better understanding and prevention of mental health and addiction issues in Northland.

This project promotes an integrated regional model for Northland that consists of:

• The development of new practitioner role/s that focus on the care of people with mild-moderate mental health issues
• Development of a relapse prevention service for people living with long-term mental health problems who can be managed in the primary health care setting
   
• Ensuring a well prepared primary health care workforce;
• The development of a tailored information technological package - i.e. this website;
• Subsidised counselling;
• Therapeutic recreation

It should be noted that not all components are applicable to every NPHO. Contact the PHO in each area to confirm what is available.