Community Care Limited (CCL) announces the appointment of its Board of Directors, as it progresses towards establishing a new Primary Health Organisation (PHO) in collaboration with Te Whatu Ora, Health NZ. This milestone marks significant progress in CCL’s application to fund and support its network of general practices across New Zealand.

The newly appointed CCL Board of Directors brings a wealth of expertise and leadership to guide the organisation’s vision of delivering high-quality, accessible primary healthcare:

• Adri Isbister (Independent Director), Independent Director of two general and urgent care practices and Enable New Zealand; previously has held many governance and executive leadership positions in health and disability over 30 years
• Tamati Shepherd-Wipiiti (Independent Director), CEO of Ngati Hine Health Trust in Northland and former Partner of the Health Team at PwC
• Dr Kim Hurst, Clinical Director of Medical at Green Cross Health and former Clinical Director at Te Awakairangi Health Network PHO
• Wayne Woolrich, General Manager of Medical at Green Cross Health and former CEO of Health Hawke’s Bay PHO

CCL is well underway with the extensive setup required to establish a PHO and is progressing with employing the capacity needed to operate effectively. CCL has engaged with its stakeholders nationally since its inception. It continues to work with regional commissioning leads across the four regions to discuss flexible funding plans and contracting models. CCL anticipates completing its implementation plan by early October 2025. The start date for CCL’s operations as a PHO will be confirmed once the application is approved by Te Whatu Ora.

“I’m thrilled to have such a strong and experienced board to lead CCL,” says Wayne Woolrich, “Their collective expertise is instrumental in shaping a sustainable and innovative primary healthcare model that benefits our practices and communities.”

Of her appointment Adri Isbister shares, “This is an exciting opportunity. Accessible, well-resourced primary care forms the basis of a healthy population. I am committed to ensuring that all individuals and communities receive timely and equitable primary care services. We currently work with 12 PHOs, and transitioning to a single national PHO would utilise existing infrastructure and back-office resources while reducing duplication”.

“Our focus is to foster partnerships with Te Whatu Ora, other sector partners and communities to improve outcomes and equity for patients and whānau,” shares Tamati Shepherd-Wipiiti.

Kim Hurst adds, “I am enthusiastic about the opportunities this presents for our network. Particularly in supporting more consistent patient access to essential services that we know can be effectively delivered closer to home, a need I observe daily in my work. It also provides a valuable chance to further strengthen a team-based model of care, with improved access to training for community nurse prescribers, extended care paramedics, and other critical roles within the primary care workforce.”

CCL is happy to share further updates as the process advances.