Tautoko Rural | Supporting Rural Hospitals and Practices through Covid-19

Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network’s Tautoko Rural initiative provides rural practices and community-run rural hospitals with funding for short-term locums and staff in any role in your service.

This funding aims to help you fill short-term staffing gaps due to COVID-19 illness, isolation requirements or work stressors caused by managing COVID-19.

It is available to all roles that support the healthcare response whether they are clinical or non-clinical. It can include administration and support staff, as well as assistance with the logistics of your practice or hospital, such as cleaning and kitchen staff.

The Tautoko Rural initiative is funded by the Ministry of Health and replaces our Pandemic Emergency Roving Locums (PERL) initiative.

Tautoko Rural funding will be available for rural general practices and non-DHB rural hospitals through until December 2022.

Sourcing staff

To help us find people to support you, the Ministry of Health has given the Network access to its COVID-19 Hands Up Database in which thousands of people across NZ registered to provide short term assistance during COVID-19 outbreaks. It includes people with clinical, non-clinical, administration and logistics skills from all DHB areas.

The application process

Please complete the application form below to let us know about your practice/hospital’s needs. Multiple positions can be applied for using one application form.

Once we receive your application, we will provide high-level profiles of the people that match your practice/hospital’s needs, with information about their readiness to work, proof of vaccination status, CV or brief work history. You will then do your own due diligence on the candidate you may wish to hire.

Alternatively, if you already have a suitable relief worker or locum available locally you can apply for Tautoko Rural funding for this placement.

For critical placements such as many clinical positions, if there is no one who is available locally, the funding may include their travel and accommodation.

All applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

In your application form, you will need to establish a reasonable pay rate and if approved, set up a contract with the relief worker and pay them following their employment.

Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network will provide reimbursement for the hours of work (plus accommodation and transport if approved) following the short-term placement.

APPLY NOW

Rural locum support service

All rural GPs are eligible to access locum cover for two weeks per annum (per FTE).

The practice will need to pay the locum and provide accommodation and a vehicle.  The locum is employed as a contractor through NZLocums & NZMedJobs.  As we are a not-for-profit organisation we pass on the cost of paying the locum at the same rate at which the locum is paid.

Please note that we do not charge the practice any recruitment fees or commission however we do charge a payroll administration fee.  Please contact one of our Relationship Managers to find out more.

We pride ourselves on our service, however due to fluctuations in supply and demand for locums, we may not always be able to provide a locum at the time you need them.  We will do our utmost to ensure we find a mutually suitable time so you can take your break.

Rural Recruitment Service

This scheme provides a national service for rural general practitioners for the following situations:

• Recruitment for permanent positions
• Bridging recruitment solutions for filling a gap until your new permanent general practitioner arrives.
• Hotspot cover – where an unplanned or unresolved recruitment problem has arisen.

To ascertain your rural ranking eligibility you will need to contact your District Health Board for further information.

Quality of our locums

Our team of experienced medical recruiters source New Zealand qualified and international medical graduates to work with us on contract.  We facilitate Medical Council registration requirements and arrange supervision for the locum if necessary.

Each locum candidate is fully reference checked and vetted by our service before being placed with a rural practice.  When an internationally qualified locum arrives in New Zealand for the first time they attend a CME accredited Orientation course run by us which covers many areas including ACC, Work and Income, Medtech32, cultural competence, the New Zealand health system and its funding streams.