Transcript
Developing the strategy involved considerable input from Pacific communities in New Zealand. Pharmac heard a variety of views from Auckland and wanted to address the issues through community engagement. One member of the Pacific community, Faiva Holmes, says it's common knowledge that many pharmacies have unclaimed prescriptions from Pacific families.
"Where Pharmac stands, I feel that they actually need to communicate more with pharmacists because with drugs and so forth, our people really need to understand what they are taking and why they are taking it. There was this lady from Lower Hutt that said that one of the pharmacist had prescriptions backed up at the back of their storage room of people unclaimed prescriptions that people actually haven't picked up."
Samoan grandmother of five Cecilia Leaupepe says it's an attitude that needs to be addressed.
"My own people to my own family, some of they just don't care, they don't know. You give them the doctor's [prescription], take this whole [tablets] until it's finished and once maybe one, two, three tablets and that's it or otherwise they just take it once they feel better tomorrow, they threw them away."
The Pacific Responsiveness Advisor Fono Tuvalu Fuimaono says more Pasifika pharmacists could lead to better communication on the matter.
"I would love to have more Pacific pharmacists. We've only come up with five names for the whole country."
Health promotion of New Zealand, Hauora have been running for 10 years. Senior health strategist for Hauora Viliami Puloka says Pharmac should build on established communities that are already working in Pacific health.
"Health promotion needs to be there. We need to build on the statuses that are already there, whether that's church or school, there are groups. We don't need to have another group. I think we need to identify the ones that are already in place."
Feedback from the community included what Pharmac thought of Pacific people's use of traditional healing. Chairman of the Consumer Advisory Committee David Lui says Pharmac will need to consider this practice in the strategy.
"Traditional healing is something that Pacific have been involved in for thousand of years, so of course it has to have a part to play in the modern times because just ignoring this and making it going away because it's still a very much a large part of our people's health and treatment, so Pharmac needs to consider that and it needs to factor that in to this strategy."
Mr Lui says overall the feedback was informative and positive with Pacific people offering suggestions for Pharmac's implementation of the strategy.
