New Pacific-owned medical centre for Lower Hutt opens

A 27-year vision for Pacific-led healthcare has become a reality in Lower Hutt, with a new medical centre aiming to make primary care more accessible for Pacific families.

Epuni Medical Centre has just opened, becoming only the second Pacific-owned and led general practice in the Wellington region.

Owned by Pacific Health Service Hutt Valley (PHSHV), the centre brings together Pacific GPs and nurse practitioners, building on a community outreach that has supported local families for decades.

Speaking with William Terite on Pacific Mornings, PHSHV general manager Candice Apelu Mariner says the Pacific-led approach means looking beyond the individual patient.

“When you're in a 15-minute consult, you just see the individual in that time. Whereas we see them in their homes, we know their families. So the wraparound service is a holistic view. And as Pasifika, we see them as extended members of our family.”

The centre's location, close to a train station and Hutt Hospital, has also been chosen to make healthcare easier to access.

Watch Candice Apelu Mariner's full interview below.

Mariner says an elderly Samoan couple had already told staff how relieved they were to have a GP within walking distance.

“They used to take two buses to see their GP, in another area of the Hutt Valley. But now they can just walk down or she can push her husband’s wheelchair.

“Care starts from when you park or when you actually travel to the clinic, it doesn’t just start when you’re sitting in front of the clinician.”

The Pacific-led medical centre opened on Monday. Photo/Epuni Medical Centre Facebook

She says the Hutt Valley has a population of about 160,000, including approximately 17,050 Pacific people.

Recognising this, PHSHV spent four years building its clinical workforce in preparation for the practice. Mariner says it now has 16 registered nurses, including the only two Pacific nurse practitioners in the central region.

“They can prescribe, do phlebotomy or draw bloods in the home, and they're fully authorised vaccinators.”

The centre charges $55 for standard adult GP appointments, reduced to $20 for Community Services Card holders. PHSHV also wants to keep its outreach programme and home nursing visits free.

The opening marks the culmination of a vision first initiated 27 years ago by three Pacific nurses and PHSHV chief executive Nanai Muaau.

Board chair Reverend Au Liko, speaking to RNZ Pacific, describes the centre as the fulfilment of a dream carried forward by successive boards.

“Access has been one of the huge barriers to our people getting quality healthcare.”

He adds that some Pacific people struggled to afford a GP or communicate with healthcare providers.

At the opening, Tū Ora Compass Health chief executive Justine Thorpe acknowledged the years of commitment, trust and community leadership behind the centre.

“Good healthcare is about more than appointments and prescriptions. It's about seeing the whole person, understanding their circumstances, supporting their family and creating an environment where people feel heard, respected and empowered.”

Mariner says the centre shows that Pacific providers are equal partners in the health system, with the knowledge and experience to shape care around their communities.

For many community health leaders, Epuni Medical Centre represents more than a new place to see a doctor. It is a step towards healthcare designed by Pacific people, for Pacific people.