Our Asian Patient Support Service (APSS) staff are available to support Asian patients receiving care from Waitematā District's hospitals and community health services, where the patient may require:

• cultural support & emotional support

• coordination support

• communication support

• support to familiarise them with NZ health services / system

• support to access appropriate and relevant agencies if there are language barriers

Services Available

Asian Patient Support Service is located at North Shore and Waitakere Hospital sites and provides the following services:

• Hospital & Community Support

  • Inpatient support

  • Socio-cultural assessment

  • Cultural advice at family meetings, discharge planning & MDT meetings

  • Post discharge from Hospital support for patients

  • Cultural advice for health professionals

• Health Promotion & Prevention

  • Health seminars for the Asian community

  • Health promotion activities

For details of the service, please visit: http://www.asianhealthservices.org.nz

APSS Team 

The core members of the Asian Patient Support Service (APSS) team are bi-lingual and have qualifications in fields such as social work, medicine, nursing, counselling, health promotion, mental health and community work with enriched work experiences in New Zealand or overseas.

Our team members understand the impact of culture on health and wellbeing; are competent with the provision of socio-cultural assessment, cultural advice and emotional support as well as clinical coordination. They are able to identify a client’s level of understanding about the NZ health system; can provide culturally appropriate support; and have knowledge about relevant resources and community agencies.

Service Hours:  Mon to Fri  0830 - 1700

Eligibility Criteria 

Patients can be referred to Asian Patient Support Service for Inpatient Support or Post Discharge from Hospital Support if they:

• speak Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Hindi, Tamil, Filipino,Tagalog, Japanese, Pushtu, Urdu, Cebuano/Bisaya, Thai, Arabic & Vietnamese

• are currently inpatients of North Shore and Waitakere hospitals

• reside in the Waitematā district (North Shore, Waitakere and Rodney areas)

• are not a SCBU, Child Disability or Mental Health patient [find out more about our Asian Mental Health Service]

Who can refer?

• Anyone can make a referral to APSS if they are in North Shore Hospital or Waitakare Hospital - self-referral (inpatients), family members or friends 

• Te Whatu Ora Waitematā staff

Referral 

On-line referral http://www.asianhealthservices.co.nz/Asian-Patient-Support-Service/Eligibility-Referrals/Referral-Form

Contact 

To request this service, please contact us on: 

(09) 486 8920  

• extn 43398 Chinese (North Shore Hospital -NSH)                   
• extn 46831 Chinese (Waitakere Hospital - WTH)
• extn 49620 Korean  (NSH & WTH)
• extn 47101  Indian, Filipino, Japanese, Pakistani, Thai, Vietnamese & Muslim cultural support workers are available on a contracted/as needs basis.