Katoa, a new customised app, will make it easier for Pinnacle staff and the Midlands Health Network to learn and use Māori language, culture and customs in their day-to-day work. Katoa aims to support Pinnacle’s efforts to build a culturally aware health workforce across the network.

Ngā mihi, congratulations to Dr Jo, from all of us here at Pinnacle, on receiving a Distinguished Fellowship from The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (RNZCGP) | Te Whare Tohu Rata o Aotearoa.

Pinnacle supports and is excited by the potential establishment of a third medical school through Waikato University.

Yesterday the health minister announced a pay increase of 8 per cent on average for practice and community nurses and kaiāwhina. This is a start and some good news after 12 months of advocacy for pay parity for this workforce.

Dr Jo Scott-Jones, medical director, highlights an upcoming Medical Protection Society webinar, and also comments on the Supreme Court’s rejection of a GP's appeal in a case of vicarious liability.

Since 2009 when we held the last full Pinnacle workforce survey, the primary care landscape has changed considerably. Now more than ever, your responses will help us better understand the complexities faced in primary care today, and how our services can best meet the people we serve into the future.  

On Friday 12 May we celebrate nurses across the globe as we remember the pioneer of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, and her legacy.

A pilot collaboration has highlighted the power of working together to provide more responsive services that better engage families around childhood vaccination.  

This month Te Whatu Ora begins implementing targeted investment for primary care to help address under-funding for Māori and Pacific providers and enable them to continue delivering services more equitably for Māori and Pacific populations.

Pinnacle Midlands Health Network looks set to receive around $1.25m from $44 million funding boost announced Wednesday (April 26) to strengthen primary, community and rural care.