Key Takeaways
- A position for a dental kaiarahi (chair‑side assistant) has been advertised to support the Mene Mai Ano clinical team, with applications closing on July 17.
- Paku, the service lead, aims to employ two dentists (or a dentist plus an oral‑health hygienist) so the unit can run at full capacity.
- The mobile oral‑health unit operates Fridays and Saturdays as part of an integrated model that shares staff between fixed and mobile clinics, providing health assessments, basic restorative work, and referrals for more complex care.
- Recruiting permanent dental professionals has proved difficult; many view the role as a temporary stepping stone before moving elsewhere.
- Paku believes a “homegrown” workforce—people with whakapapa (genealogical) ties to Wairoa—is more likely to stay long‑term.
- Wairoa has lacked a permanent adult dental service since 2020; a February 2023 free‑care event (Tō Waha) revealed overwhelming demand that exceeded expectations.
- Health New Zealand’s Hawke’s Bay acting general manager, Wietske Cloo, notes the district was prioritized for early investment in the 2022 Budget mobile‑dental initiative, which aims to reduce travel and cost barriers for residents.
- Locum dentists and hygienists currently staff the unit on Fridays and Saturdays, with ongoing talks about extending their availability.
- A national shortage of dentists and oral‑health therapists compounds recruitment challenges, especially in rural areas like Wairoa.
- The story was reported by Michaela Gower of Hawke’s Bay Today, who covers rural and farming news in the region.
Advertised Dental Kaiarahi Role
The Mene Mai Ano clinical team is seeking a dental kaiarahi to provide chair‑side assistance. The advertisement specifies a deadline of July 17 for applications, indicating a timely effort to bolster the team before the anticipated increase in patient demand. The kaiarahi’s duties would include preparing treatment rooms, sterilising instruments, supporting patients during procedures, and handling administrative tasks that allow dentists to focus on clinical work. By filling this support role, the unit hopes to improve workflow efficiency and patient throughput, especially given the limited days the service is currently open.
Staffing Ambitions and Unit Capacity
Paku, the service coordinator, expressed a clear goal to hire two dentists, or alternatively a dentist paired with an oral‑health hygienist, to enable the mobile unit to operate at its designed capacity. Having two dental professionals on site would allow simultaneous treatment rooms, reduce patient wait times, and expand the range of services that can be delivered without needing to refer patients elsewhere immediately. The unit’s physical layout and equipment are configured to accommodate this dual‑clinician model, making the recruitment target both realistic and essential for sustainable operation.
Integrated Service Delivery Model
Mene Mai Ano functions within an integrated oral‑health framework where staff are shared between fixed clinics and the mobile unit. This approach maximises resource utilisation, ensuring that clinicians retain skills across different settings while maintaining continuity of care for patients. The mobile unit’s schedule—Fridays and Saturdays—complements the fixed clinic’s hours, offering flexibility for those who may struggle to attend weekday appointments due to work or transportation constraints. Services provided on the unit include comprehensive health assessments, basic restorative treatments such as fillings and extractions, and timely referrals to fixed clinics or secondary care when more complex interventions are required.
Challenges in Recruiting Dental Professionals
Paku described the difficulty of securing permanent dentists as “very hard to do.” Although a few interested candidates have emerged, many have accepted positions elsewhere, often perceiving the Wairoa role as a temporary stepping stone rather than a long‑term career move. This transient mindset is exacerbated by the need for practitioners to gain experience in larger centres before considering rural placements, leading to a cycle where professionals come, gain skills, and then move on. The situation highlights a broader issue of workforce retention in rural health services, where geographic isolation and limited career advancement opportunities can deter sustained commitment.
Homegrown Workforce as a Potential Solution
To counteract the recruitment challenges, Paku advocated for a homegrown strategy: attracting individuals who whakapapa (have genealogical ties) to Wairoa. She noted that people who grew up in the community and later left for education or work often return, bringing both familiarity with local culture and a personal investment in the area’s wellbeing. By prioritising candidates with such connections, the service hopes to foster loyalty and reduce turnover, creating a stable core team that understands the unique oral‑health needs of the Wairoa population.
Historical Gap in Adult Dental Care
Wairoa has been without a permanent adult dental service since 2020, leaving residents to rely on occasional outreach or travel to larger centres for care. This gap was starkly highlighted during the Tō Waha initiative in January 2023, when Golden Apple dentist Isha Woodhams organised a free‑care event. Woodhams recalled initially anticipating that three or four days would suffice, but the overwhelming turnout suggested that even a year‑long effort might not meet the community’s needs. The event underscored the pent‑up demand for accessible dental care and reinforced the necessity of a sustained, locally based solution.
Health New Zealand’s Investment and Strategic Prioritisation
Wietske Cloo, acting general manager of specialist and community services for Health New Zealand Hawke’s Bay, confirmed that Hawke’s Bay was among the districts selected for early investment under the 2022 Budget mobile‑dental initiative. Since 2023, the Kahungunu Executive has partnered with Health New Zealand to deliver a short‑term remedy for Wairoa’s oral‑health shortage. The mobile unit’s placement directly addresses cost and time barriers, eliminating the need for residents to travel long distances for basic dental care. Cloo also acknowledged the nationwide shortage of dentists and oral‑health therapists, noting that recruitment is especially challenging for new services in rural locales.
Current Operational Status and Future Prospects
At present, the mobile oral‑health unit is staffed by locum dentists and oral‑health hygienists who hold contracts with Health New Zealand, operating on Fridays and Saturdays. Ongoing discussions are exploring the possibility of extending these clinicians’ availability to additional days or longer shifts, thereby increasing access. Paku and health officials remain optimistic that, with targeted recruitment strategies—particularly the homegrown approach—and continued support from regional health authorities, the unit can transition from a reliance on temporary staff to a stable, permanent dental team capable of meeting Wairoa’s long‑term oral‑health needs.
Reporting on the Story
The article was authored by Michaela Gower, who joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based in the Hastings newsroom. Gower covers Dannevirke and wider Hawke’s Bay affairs, with a particular interest in farming and rural community stories. Her coverage of the Mene Mai Ano dental service highlights the intersection of healthcare challenges and rural resilience, bringing attention to the efforts being made to improve oral‑health outcomes for Wairoa’s residents.