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About Community and Public Health/ Nga Korero Ra

Community and Public Health | Te Mana Ora (formerly known as Crown Public Health) is now part of the new National Public Health Service (NPHS) within Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand.

We provide public health services to those people living in Canterbury | Waitaha, South Canterbury and the West Coast | Te Tai o Poutini as well as the Chatham Islands.

Over 120 staff are located at offices in Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru and Greymouth. They aim to create environments, policies, communities, and families/whānau that support healthy choices and lifestyles.

Visit the Health New Zealand Waitaha Canterbury website for information on other divisions or departments including the Public Health Nursing Service, and School and Community Dental Services (formerly known as the Canterbury District Health Board).

Community and Public Health’s goal has been: Improved health and wellbeing based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi, equity, and planetary wellbeing.

The principles of Community and Public Health’s work have been:

  • Focusing on the health of communities rather than individuals;
  • Influencing health determinants;
  • Prioritising improvements in Māori health;
  • Reducing health disparities;
  • Basing practice on the best available evidence;
  • Building effective partnerships across the health sector and other sectors; and
  • Remaining responsive to new and emerging health threats.

COVID-19 was a new public health priority for Community and Public Health to address alongside our existing priorities.

Community and Public Health works on collaborative projects and initiatives with councils, government agencies, community organisations, and other members of the health sector like PHOs.

How Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health is structured

Te Mana Ora | Community and Public Health is divided into teams that reflect regional diversity and core public health functions.

Staff have been re-arranged into several work streams to provide the core public health functions – as part of the transition to the National Public Health Service:

  • Community and Whānau Wellbeing – working to prevent chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes by addressing the behavioural and environmental risk factors, through environments and schools sub-teams.
    A smokefree sub-team provides smoking cessation support within the community as well as supporting facilities and workplaces to be smokefree.
    The LinKIDs team helps connect families with pre-school aged children with appropriate health services including immunisation.
  • Compliance and Health Protection – protecting health and wellbeing in communities, with environmental health and communicable disease sub-teams. This team also includes regulatory mahi/ work around alcohol licensing and smokefree enforcement.
  • Intelligence – identifying and providing information about the population’s health status, including what factors affect health.
  • Strategy and Operations – coordinating related activities across the South Island including implementing Health in All Policies (HiAP), learning and workforce development, information systems support and preparing for emergencies.

The Canterbury office also provides services for the Chatham Islands.

Regional Offices: working hard for their communities

There are also regional staff meeting the specific public health needs of their respective communities:

  • Mid-Canterbury – based in Ashburton;
  • South Canterbury – based in Timaru; and
  • West Coast – based in Greymouth.
Page last updated: 21/01/2025

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