What is the Hawkes Bay Primary Health Organisation (PHO)?
Hawkes Bay PHO is a not-for-profit, charitable organisation that brings together health professionals and the community to coordinate and deliver health services for the population of Napier, Hastings and Central Hawke's Bay.

Hawkes Bay PHO receives a set amount of funding from the Government to subsidise a range of health services.  The funding is based on a number of characteristics (eg: age, sex, ethnicity) of people enrolled with the PHO and will pay for services to:

• provide care and treatment when people are ill
• help people to stay healthy
• reach out to those groups in their community who have poor health or who are missing out on the primary health care

Hawkes Bay PHO Goals

In addressing the challenges facing the Hawke's Bay community as identified in the Hawke's Bay District Health Board Strategic Plan 2006 - 2015, Hawkes Bay PHO is going to focus on four goals, as outlined in the HBPHO Strategic Framework 2008-2011

• Population Health
• Reducing Health Inequalities
• Workforce Development
• Service Sustainability

To find out more about the Hawkes Bay PHO, please look through our web site or contact us.

Hawkes Bay PHO has 132,686 enrolled patients as of 1 July 2010.  There are 26 Medical Centres that are members of the Hawkes Bay PHO.  The number of staff currently working in the medical centres are 111 General Practitioners; 140 Practice Nurses and 98 administration and support staff.

Why would I want to enrol with the Hawkes Bay PHO?

Depending on your personal circumstances (for example your age or your medical condition) you can access cheaper doctors' visits and pharmacy prescriptions.  Being enrolled with the Hawkes Bay PHO means that additional funding is available to your family medical centre.

• If you live in the area and have visited your usual General Practitioner in the last 3 years, it is likely that you have been asked to enrol with the Hawkes Bay PHO.
• Enrolment takes places at your usual family medical centre - the staff there will talk with you about enrolment, what is involved and what it means for you and your family.  They will ask you to sign the enrolment form.
• You can only enrol with one medical centre.  If you choose to visit another medical centre you will not be eligible to receive cheaper fees and this will also result in your medical centre incurring a charge for that visit.