What’s on your plate this Christmas?
A fruit Christmas tree, ‘Rudolph’ sandwiches filled with salad and Santa eggs
were on the menu for Room 18 at the class
Christmas party at Apanui School recently.
The treats were prepared by Sarah Wells
who’s recently been appointed to the new
position of Community Dietitian at the
Eastern Bay Primary Healthcare Alliance
(EBPHA) focused on youth.
In July this year the Ministry of Health
introduced a new health target ‘Raising
Healthy Kids’ part of a raft of initiatives
to tackle New Zealand’s rising rates of
childhood obesity.
Statistics show 11% or one in nine children
aged 2-14 are obese in New Zealand. In the
Bay of Plenty the rate is 9%.
Sarah who’s recently moved to the Eastern
Bay from Australia is passionate about
helping kiwi kids grow into happy, healthy
young adults with positive eating habits that
they can maintain for life.
“We know that eating habits good or bad are
developed in our younger years and have an
impact on our health into adulthood. This
time of year, kids are prone to eating lots
of Christmas sweet treats. They can still
have treats but they don’t have to be loaded
with sugar.”
Before enjoying their Christmas feast,
Sarah spoke to Room 18 about their favourite
Christmas treats and healthy treats for
their bodies.
Teacher Sarah Akroyd was impressed with
the healthy treats and planned to put photos
on the class social media page to encourage
parents to make the treats at home.
Aiden Cox and Te Hawiki Rangihika-Hawea are eager to try the healthy
Christmas treats prepared by Dietitian Sarah Wells (middle).
‘Phone Your GP First’ this holiday season
Dr Bryce Kihirini, from Te Puke’s Nga Kakano Foundation, says people are getting
peace of mind from a new after-hours telephone nurse triage service.
‘Phone Your GP First’ is the message this
Christmas and New Year if you have a nonurgent medical issue.
A free phone triage system in the Eastern Bay
means that your call will be answered by a
registered nurse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,
52 weeks a year.
Accessing the service is easy, simply ring your
normal GP Practice number any time of day. If
the call is after-hours it will be automatically
re-directed to a qualified nurse who will discuss
your treatment options and point you in the
right direction for the care you need.
Dr Bryce Kihirini a GP for Nga Kakano
Foundation in Te Puke, says the service
represented a similar opportunity for patients
across the Bay of Plenty.
“The GPs at our practice all support it,” says
Dr Kihirini, adding that patients could save
themselves time and money by simply calling
their GP’s number any time of the day or night.
“To be able to call a registered health professional
and run the symptoms past them and being told
either, you do need to go to hospital, or no you
can sort that out with your GP in the morning, or
whatever the advice may be, is reassuring. It can
save time and money but probably the peace of
mind is the biggest thing.”
Whakatāne Hospital Medical Lead Dr Matt
Valentine says if a medical issue wasn’t an
obvious emergency people should always
phone their GP first.
During last year’s holiday season Whakatāne
Hospital’s Emergency Department saw over 1000
patients in 12 days (Christmas Day to 5 January).
Numbers topped 100 on five of the 12 days with
the busiest day seeing 114 patients attend.
Fruit in Schools reaches record number of kids
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says
this year’s expansion of the successful
Fruit in Schools initiative to a record 547
schools including most in the Eastern Bay
has had a positive impact.
“Children need to eat well in order to optimise
their learning and that’s why Fruit in Schools
is so beneficial to students,” says Dr Coleman.
“Staff at the school also take part to help
encourage students to try new things and
influence their healthy eating decisions.
“Fruit in Schools complements the Childhood
Obesity Plan. New Zealand is one of the
first OECD countries to have a target
and a comprehensive plan to tackle childhood obesity.”
Following the Ministry of Education’s decile
funding changes, all existing schools have remained in the Fruit in Schools pro-gramme, with
an additional 77 others eligible to participate.
As a result, a total of 547 schools including more
than twenty in the Eastern Bay have benefitted
in 2016, covering around 103,000 students and
around 12,000 staff.
Schools receive high quality seasonal fruit and
vegetables, and they sample up to 24 different
types of fruit or vegetable during the year.
By the time schools break up for the
summer break, more than 20 million
servings will have been dished up.
The Government invests $7.8 million into
the Fruit in Schools programme each year.
This is being supported by the extra
$568 million going into Health for 2016/17
– taking the total Health spend
to a record $16.1 billion.
Dr Valentine says a high number of people
attending ED were coming to the wrong place
for treatment, adding that those who did attend
with minor ailments could expect a long wait.
“People attending the ED with minor ailments
will likely be confronted with significant waits
to be seen, with those who are sickest being
seen first. However, whilst the ED’s triage
process ensures the sickest are seen first, those
left in the queue are still monitored.”
People are being advised to save their GP’s
number to their mobile phone so that they have
it handy when needed. If the issue is a medical
emergency the triage service will be able to
connect patients with an ambulance.
Those people visiting the Eastern Bay of
Plenty who are not registered with a local
GP can access the same
service by calling
07 306 2360.