Waitakere Health Link fosters effective collaborative relationships between communities and healthcare providers through consultation, advocacy and monitoring.
We work closely with local health and social service providers to connect the services in the west with consumers, share health information with the community and collect feedback to inform service planning.
That work runs in both directions: providers hear what the community actually needs, and the community learns what is available to them.
Decisions about health services are better decisions when the people who use those services help shape them. West Auckland is diverse, and its health needs are not the same as anywhere else.
Our role is to make sure those voices are heard where they count — in planning rooms, on committees and in the design of the services people rely on every day.
Practical programmes and representation that help West Auckland whānau reach the healthcare they need.
Information and support for new and expecting parents across West Auckland, connecting them with local services from pregnancy through the early years.
Learn about Babies Out WestWe recruit, train and support consumer representatives who bring a community voice to health service planning and governance.
Become a consumer repA community-to-hospital shuttle helping people get to appointments when transport is a barrier to care.
See shuttle detailsOur vision is for community involvement in healthcare decision making processes to become part of the culture of our healthcare organisations and communities.
Short-term consultation processes will no longer happen, as structures and networks will be firmly established to foster ongoing dialogue between the community and healthcare providers.
“I have been involved with Waitakere Health Link and Health Link North for some years now and been impressed by the growth of both. It is a privilege to work with these people.
Their connections with the wider community are strong and relevant which gives them a great platform to advocate on consumer concerns. With their growth, so have their professionalism, efficiency, and communication skills making them an essential resource for the WDHB.”
Judith Lunny
“Research evidence shows that involving patients and their whānau/family in the co-design of health services leads to improving health outcomes and addressing social inequalities. However, re-orienting our community health services so they include patients’ and their whānau/family’s voices is an on-going challenge.
Waitakere Health Link plays an important role in developing regional capacity to reorient health services, so they become more patient and whānau/family friendly. As a health consumer representative I have certainly benefitted from such affirmation.”
Judy Blakey
We work across the west, from Henderson and Massey through to the Waitākere Ranges and the coastal communities.