The industry-driven initiative has the backing of Immigration New Zealand (INZ) officials, who talked at the recent Horticulture Industry Forum in Wellington about a mobile doctor pilot that has been run on the Vanuatu island of Santo.

Before coming to New Zealand to work under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme, potential workers undergo medical checks required by INZ, including chest x-rays to check for tuberculosis. TB is treatable and doesn’t totally exclude applicants from the scheme long-term. A mobile doctor pilot was run in Luganville, Santo, in September last year to assess the value of a doctor travelling to the island to complete Immigration Medical Examinations (IME).

The pilot was successful and had some extra benefits, including picking up some general health issues that could be treated easily and allowing people to stay closer to their home island, rather than travelling to Port Vila for the testing. This, in turn, reduced pressure on testing resources in Port Vila and also saved workers the expense of staying in Port Vila while their testing is done.

To build on the pilot, the Santo hospital needs the capability to digitise x-rays to e-mail them to INZ. Donations for this can be made into the Kiwifruit Industry Community Support Fund Inc. bank account 06-0379-0245466-00. For more information, please contact Kate Longman at NZKGI.

Source: HortNZ