New Mobile Health Bus Partnership

The vibrant Waka Hauora Mobile Health Bus, launched by the Robert Bartley Foundation in 2020, has been bringing healthcare directly to our community – offering immunisations, free health and cancer screenings, school-based services, and access to a range of clinical health services supporting greater uptake across communities throughout the Whanganui region.

“A key focus of the Foundation’s work is supporting people affected by cancer and helping bring preventative and community-based health services to those who need them the most. We continue to fundraise to maintain the bus and to support our latest initiative – purchasing a dedicated vehicle for the Cancer Society to use in transporting patients to their treatments, supporting practice visits and ongoing care, and strengthening community outreach,” says Foundation Chair and Manager, Sarah Bartley.

To maximise the bus’s impact, the Robert Bartley Foundation has partnered with Whanganui Regional Health Network (WRHN) to make primary health care services more accessible – especially for those facing barriers such as isolation, distance, cost, or illness.

“The bus creates a visual statement when it arrives in our communities, signalling that health professionals and partners are available to meet our people in their backyard to explore and progress a range of wellness strategies, such as skin lesion checks, vaccinations, cervical screening, and bowel screening kits.

WRHN welcomes opportunities to connect with critical friends who appreciate that the health system needs to respond differently if we are going to keep people well.

It takes all sorts of partners to increase our reach and our effectiveness. Having the Whanganui Eye Care Trust Chair interested and engaged in our collaborative strategies was a highlight. Alan Mangan has worked with WRHN for many years as a GP, and it’s a pleasure to have him alongside us as we share strategy and find ways to deliver more accessible and community focused care models,” says WRHN CE, Jude MacDonald.

This is an opportunity to expand the use of the Health Bus and provide community services with another pathway to reach those most in need. The bus is made available to non-profit organisations and community-focused health providers, offering a private treatment room, a spacious hospital bed, storage for necessary medical supplies, and a small waiting area.

“We are excited to extend our partnerships and continue Dad’s legacy of giving back to the community that he cherished so much,” says Ms Bartley. “For more information and to help keep the bus keep moving, please visit the Foundation’s website – www.bartleyfoundation.org”