The Accident Compensation Corporation - ACC - has extended it's Support Your Wellbeing service for over 4,000 staff to include rongoā Māori which is traditional Māori healing.

This means ACC kaimahi - staff - can choose rongoā Māori services when they need it. The service is there to support their wellbeing in the workplace and in their personal lives.

The offering is being made alongside ACC's existing Employee Assistance Programme - EAP - service. It is available to Māori and non-Māori kaimahi.

"It's the first government organisation that I have heard of offering rongoā to their kaimahi – and I travel around a lot," says Donna Kerridge, a traditionally trained rongoā Māori practitioner with more than 20 years' experience.

"The fact that ACC is doing it is just amazing. First or last it doesn't matter. I am really grateful that the people who are looking after the health and wellbeing of those who have had injuries, they themselves are being looked after.”

ACC employee Cheryl Pakaru is a proud Māori employee.

'I acknowledge, and I'm grateful, that there has been a huge journey behind the scenes for this to become a reality," says Cheryl.

Cheryl works with seriously injured clients in Tauranga who have sustained a life changing injury. Her goal is to make a difference every day.

'When I come to mahi, it's not just me who I represent,” says Cheryl, who is from Ngāiterangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Pukenga, Tainui, and grew up living off the moana - ocean.

'It's my tūpuna, it is my whānau. In terms of my upbringing, it was not only my parents. It was kuia and kaumatua (grandparents). Growing up with them, they certainly influenced me to be the person I am today.

'There have been times when I have needed to access EAP It's not only me going, it is who I represent. When I'm looking for a provider, I'm looking for someone who understands me in terms of who I am and what my values are.

'Like many Māori, I needed a holistic approach to my wellbeing.”

Cheryl is thrilled to see the commitment ACC has made to its kaimahi with rongoā Māori.

Rongoā Māori has been used by Māori for generations to support hauora - health, and oranga - wellbeing.

Rongoā Māori recognises that where an imbalance in the wairua or mauri of an individual exists, it will manifest in the body as an illness or ailment.

Rongoā Māori techniques are used for treating the cause of the illness, not just the injury.

Common rongoā Māori modalities include: mirimiri, romiromi (bodywork), rongoā rākau, wai rākau (herbal remedies), karakia, (prayer, incantations) and whitiwhiti kōrero (support, advice).

ACC's Tumu Pae Ora Michelle Murray is very proud of this initiative.

'In the past two years, we've supported more than 2,000 clients through traditional Māori healing – it's fantastic to now offer that same choice for our own kaimahi,” says Michelle.

'We have set the stage for increased trust and meaningful change – a new chapter in ACC's relationship with Māori that has already begun.”

ACC and rongoā Māori summary:

• Our data shows that Māori are more likely to sustain a serious, life-changing injury but are less likely to access ACC services
• Our data tells us Māori are 25 percent less likely to make a claim with us than non-Māori
• As at the end of June 2022, we had approved rongoā Māori for around 2,300 claims and funded more than 15,200 sessions
• One in five of those clients hadn't previously received other forms of ACC care or treatment before benefitting from rongoā
• Rongoā Māori is available to clients on request and can be used as standalone care or in conjunction with other treatment
• There are around 70 ACC-registered rongoā Māori practitioners in New Zealand, from Kaitāia to Invercargill
• Rongoā Māori is now available to support ACC staff – with up to four sessions allocated to each staff member.