Kaiatawhai Nursing Service 1

A patient was referred to the Kaiatawhai Nursing Service because both Te Piki Oranga and Te WakaHauora were struggling to engage and support this young Tāne with his health needs: The patient is a 22-year-old Māori male. He is employed and is currently doing 12-hour shifts starting at 0400 and finishing at 1600, Monday to Friday. This prevents him from attending any appointments. When he was referred to the Kaiatawhai Nursing Service, there was a lot of barriers for him being able to comply with the recommendations of his Cardiac specialist. He considered work more of a priority than his own health, this meant there were lots of things to consider and coordinate. He was overdue for his Penicillin V injections for his rheumatic cardiac disease and had not had a required blood test for almost a year. He had suffered two significant heart events. He consented to have both Penicillin V injections and a blood test at work. Outcome: The nurses from the Kaiatawhai Service and Te Piki Oranga met with the patient at his rural work place. One of the nurses from the patient’s general practice had done a lot of work in the background to make this happen. She arranged the day and time for us to meet through the work Site Manager and she also provided us with all the equipment we needed for the IV injection and blood taking. The patient is now well supported by Te Piki Oranga, the general practice and secondary care specialist to have his regular medication and blood tests. The Kaiatawhai Nursing Service will re-engage again when needed for the patient and his whānau.