Andrew Slater sets Whakarongorau Aotearoa on a well-being journey
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Auckland, October 30, 2021
Whakarongorau is a word to describe the many ways to listen, and that it is key to describing the work of New Zealand’s national telehealth service provider and how they help around 25,000 people who contact their 30+ services, every day.
Whakarongorau Aotearoa (New Zealand Telehealth Services) is a social enterprise which provides free to the public 24/7 health and mental health telehealth services.
Those services are listed here.
These include Covid Healthline Services in support of the Government’s Covid response.
The organisation works hard to ensure cultural diversity with its 1850 frontline staff speaking 30 languages. Among them, 122 staff who identify as Indian and are able to speak to those who call for help and information in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Punjabi.
Commitment to improving wellbeing
At the helm of Whakarongorau Aotearoa is Andrew Slater, who has been passionately committed to improving people’s wellbeing since he was 15 when he started as a St John Ambulance Cadet in rural Wairarapa.
As Aotearoa’s youngest Chief Executive in the health sector, Andrew (38) works to solve health issues by identifying solutions through both a traditional and innovative lens.
“Despite using latest e-health technologies, it is always about people and our role is to make meaningful connections with all those who call us for help and information,” he said.
“There is simply no such thing as a stupid question and people need to feel comfortable about asking us any question on their minds. Our diverse Healthline frontline workforce is supported by more than 200 paramedics and nurses and supplemented by 50 health advisors. If we do not know the answer instantly, we will make sure we find the answer for you.
“While the Covid pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have been challenging, they have also made people more connected with their local communities, and it is that community connection which is just so important in this environment of uncertainty. Since the latest lockdown began on August 18, 2021, the Covid Vaccination Healthline alone has engaged with more than 545,500 contacts. That is around 7500 calls a day helping people from Kaitaia to Bluff. Our job is to gear up to provide this level of support when we are needed and Whakarongorau Aotearoa is no stranger to it. We have helped through national crises before such as the Christchurch terror attacks, natural disasters like Whakaari White Island and the Kaikoura earthquakes, and annual flu seasons.”
The Whakarongorau Aotearoa model is that every door is the right door. While there are three Covid services in Healthline currently – people will get support for Covid information, vaccination advice, support in self-isolation, or general health support, no matter which number they call.
Indians top in Vaccination
Recent Ministry of Health research conducted by Horizon in association with Auckland University’s School of Population Health shows that those in the Indian community who are not already vaccinated are more likely than any other ethnicity to get a vaccine. 85% of Indian respondents answered “yes” compared to 68% of Maori, 72% of Pasifika and 82% of Asian respondents.
However Indian and Asian respondents were more likely not to take the vaccine if alarmed by misinformation they thought was credible.
“We are supporting the fight against Covid by ensuring that people have the information and advice they need to book a vaccine, including clinical advice about symptoms, and non-clinical advice about testing stations,” Slater said.
“Our Covid Vaccination Healthline also helps people who cannot book or need help to book their vaccination on the Ministry of Health’s national online booking system.”
eMental Health International Collaborative
Whakarongorau Aotearoa is connected to a global network of similar organisations as it responds to the impact of Covid and other public health threats by sharing ideas, best practice approaches and resources internationally daily.
One such organisation is eMental Health International Collaborative (eMHIC), an international social impact charity comprising global leaders and subject matter experts from Sweden, England, Scotland, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and APEC countries.
The mission of eMHIC is to facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing on all topics related to eMental health and addiction, to support and improve mental health and addiction outcomes for all populations.
eMHIC Chief Executive Professor Anil Thapliyal said that he is delighted that Slater has recently joined the eMHIC Global Leadership Council.
“It is an acknowledgement of his leadership and contribution towards implementing some of the most innovative technology-enabled mental health solutions in New Zealand, which are playing an even more important role in the current COVID environment. Under Andrew’s leadership, Whakarongorau Aotearoa has been setting new international best practice benchmarks in the provision of healthcare services delivered via phone, text and social media,” he said.
Slater puts the organisation’s success as an e-health leader to living by its values.
“The cultural diversity and spirit of our organisation are embedded in our name. Whakarongorau is a word to describe the many ways to listen – whakarongo (to listen) and a-rongorau (a modern word for multimedia, the many ways of communication or media). Our name is derived from the old Maori word Whakarongorau (to listen with great intent and purpose), and the English version of that name is New Zealand Telehealth Services,” he said.
Whakarongorau Aotearoa runs government-funded free to the public, virtual health, mental health, and social helpline services available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to all people across New Zealand. Whakarongorau Aotearoa is partnering with the Indian Newslink to create better awareness of these services to help people from the Indian diaspora. Specific services will feature regularly through Indian Newslink channels.
