Taking health services into the community
Christchurch Mayor Garry Moore describes Jackie Cooper as one of life’s special people. As nurse specialist for the The Aranui Nursing Project, Jackie’s pragmatic, caring approach is making a difference in addressing the social and health issues of Aranui residents. She’s prepared to knock on whoever’s door she needs to so the community’s voice is heard.
Jackie Cooper’s battered diary tells a story — it’s full. Her appointments are penciled in alongside those of her many patients who she sees in their homes, at their kindergartens and schools, in the community café or fish and chip shop and at a local doctor’s surgery.
After two years working as a nurse in the community, she better understands the barriers facing her patients in accessing services. She wonders if people providing a service realise when they make an appointment for an Aranui resident who hasn’t got a car how difficult getting there will be. She does what’s needed to overcome the practical hurdles and supports them through the appointment.
But she and others in the community question the sustainability of a ‘band-aid’ approach. What she would really like is to see service providers being more flexible and responsive to people’s realities in different neighborhoods.
“It would be good to see services brought into the community rather than the community having to go to the services,’’ she says.
Aranui residents are seeing the benefit of Jackie’s project, a Canterbury District Health Board strategic initiative star ted two years ago to look at improving access to health services and increasing collaboration between agencies.
And while it is specifically concerned with health, such a neighbourhood-targeted scheme is a potential model for all service providers, Jackie believes. “Aranui has a special character, its people’s needs differ from those on the other side of town, and because it is so different, services need to look different too,” she says.
The residents she works with face a complexity of issues. Poverty deprives them of a quality of life many Christchurch residents takes for granted, Jackie says. Other factors which need addressing include poor nutrition, poor dental health, a sense of psychological and geographical isolation and social cohesion issues.
She is optimistic that progress is possible and encourages other service providers to make personal connections with Aranui residents in their homes, streets, halls, schools and community groups.
Jackie feels privileged to work in Aranui and how it has been about being visible and building up a sense of trust. Anyone who comes into the community knows that it takes time to build relationships, she says.
“I’ve discovered an environment in which I feel most welcome and where I can use my professional skills. I don’t have ambitions to single-handedly change the world, but I hope through the relationships I’ve formed I can be a catalyst for change.” |
